Separate Ways
by TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsLazuli
Summary: After 4 years of war with Homeworld the Second Gem War comes to an end, so Steven and the Crystal Gems disband to start new lives. A decade later an adult Connie is helped by an old ally to bring home Steven and the gems to fix their broken family. 1st story written in the "Original Storyline" Universe, 3rd in chronological order.
1. Call me Connie

**This is my first Steven Universe story, and it takes a different approach from what most SU fanfics have. Hope you enjoy, and check out my other story, A boy named Matthew. Enjoy!**

The woman stood outside her future workplace on a cool autumn morning. She stared at the huge brick building that she was being interviewed at for her dream job, **Shooting** **Star** **Psychiatric** **Hospital.** The woman took a deep breath, checked her watch, and walked through the French doors to the hospital.

She went to the front desk and spoke to the lady working there.

"Hello, I have an interview with Dr. Clark at 8am today." The woman began. "I wanted to be a few minutes early so I didn't get lost here."

"I see." Said the lady behind the desk. "Dr. Clark is down the right hall, third door on the right side."

"Thank you." The woman said, and she went on her way. She followed the desk lady's directions and knocked on the door. The window had words etched into it.

 **Dr. David Clark**

 **Psychiatrist specializing in War veterans and Children.**

The woman checked her watch once more. It read 7:59.

 _I'll just knock now and see if my interview's still on,_ She thought.

She knocked on the door 3 times and waited for a response.

"Come in." Replied a young man's voice.

She opened the door and closed it on her way in.

A man in a white lab coat with glasses sat on a swivel chair at a larger oak desk, leaning over some paperwork. Several bookshelves sat around the room in either a corner or against a wall. A large window sat on the far right of the medium sized office, letting in a lot of natural light from the sun and giving the woman a nice view of the parking lot and the rest of the hospital grounds, including its various other buildings on the property.

"Hello Dr. Clark." The woman said, feeling a bit nervous around him. "I have a job interview with you now?"

"Oh, of course!" Clark said enthusiastically. "Come in, come in! Pull up a chair and have a seat. I've been expecting you."

The woman pulled up a wooden chair that sat nearby and sat down in front of Clark's desk.

"So let's kick this off." Clark began. "Do you have you're resume?"

"I do." Answered the woman. She reached into her satchel and pulled out an olive colored folder with her information and handed it to Clark.

He thumbed through the contents inside for several minutes, and then set it down on his desk.

"So, you contacted me via Facebook with a custom username. Care to tell me what it was?"

"Yes. My username was StarFighter4Life." The woman stated.

"I'll call you Star for now. I have countless interviews a week, and I don't like learning real names until I hire someone." Clark explained.

"Understood."

"You have a very interesting resume, Star." He went on. "Never done anything illegal, always straight A's, and you're a vet."

"Yes, that's me." Star confirmed.

"Well, whether you get the job or not, I just want to say something. Thank you for your service. I know that the Second Gem War was a hard fight, and that many good people, including innocent people, were lost. When I had heard of the War when it began, I was a boy barely in his teens. My home was destroyed and I was almost killed, but I survived. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my parents..."

Star felt for Clark. She'd fought in the war, true, but she had been only 13 at the time it had started and 17 when it had ended. She hasn't lost anyone she cared about in the war, but instead made new friends that she was still in contact with even after all these years. She was 27 now, a full grown adult, but she still struggled with the nightmares from the war. Seeing people get ripped to shreds by the Homeworld Gems' sharp blades and deadly laser guns, seeing gems, good and bad, suddenly being shattered even before they had poofed and retreated back to their gems. It was brutal, and it was worse for Star than most others because she was a child. She has to deal with those nightmare and flashbacks for the rest of her life, forever making her estranged with people around her.

Which is why Star was nervous now. Dr. Clark looked like a man she tried to save, but was too late. The man had had his skull smashed in by a hostile Jasper gem. Right in front of her.

"I am deeply sorry for your losses, Dr. Clark." Star apologized, turning her focus back to the interview and trying to get the image of the man she couldn't save out of her head. "The War was hard for everyone. But it was the only war worth fighting. Us humans have been waging war on each other for millennia, and for no reason other than to destroy ourselves. Humans fought in the First Gem War, but still didn't learn to become United. Then after that we still had wars, but nobody did anything until the Great War. That's when we decided to put down our guns and have peace in the world, but even still, we have to kill each other. 9/11, Benghazi, Sandy Hook, we still didn't learn. It took another world war, leaving millions dead and Earth left in shambles by an extraterrestrial enemy to finally see our errors. But knowing Man, we'll never learn and we'll just go back to fighting our brothers and sisters in the next few decades. No wonder Homeworld wanted us dead. We're parasites that are killing our planet. I just hope nothing like the Gem Wars ever happen again. If it weren't for Mankind unifying for the war and the rebel gems that lived on Earth, we may never had a chance. We still didn't have much of a chance. But we're stubborn. We won't die...but at the same time, that's our problem."

"Wow." Clark said when Star finished. "That was very...deep. I can tell you've been changed by this experience at a young age. You became an adult in your teenage years. I like someone like that. And you think a lot too. That's always good. Thank you for talking to me about this. You've reapply opened my eyes."

"Thank you, Dr. Clark. That means a lot coming from you."

"And I love your necklace." He added, pointing to her neck.

Star took her necklace in her palm and looked at it. It was a gift from a good friend of hers from way back when. It was a silver medalion with several different covered gemstones embedded in it in the shape of a circle. There was a Ruby, Sapphire, Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, and in the middle of the circle, was a large round piece of Rose Quartz. It represented The 9 Gems who led the Rebel Gems and Human Armies to victory against The Homeworld Armies and their leader, Yellow Diamond. In fact, the first battle for Earth took place in the city that Star lived in, Beach City, Delmarva. Star was the first human to fight alongside the Rebel Gem warriors against Yellow Diamond's forces. That was the first attack. No one knew the Homeworld Gems would stage such a worldwide invasion, so there wasn't a single country prepared for the War. Luckily one person, someone Star knew very well, informed the world of the threat, and led Earth's armies to victory.

If only anyone knew where he went after the war...

"This necklace was from a friend of mine who also fought in the war. He was a great leader, and an even better friend."

"Would you ever introduce me to this friend of yours?" Asked Clark.

"No." Star said sadly. "We haven't spoken since the war's end. I don't know where he is."

"That's a shame." Said Clark. "Well, you're in luck. This hospital actually houses many Gem War vets, and believe it or not, some of the patients are Gems who fought on Earth's side. You'll be meeting some of the people and gems you were allied with."

"Really!?" Star said in pure disbelief.

"Yes, ma'am. Since you're a vet yourself, and since I like you, I'll have you work solely with them. That way both you and the patients have something to relate to, and you'll have an easy time diagnosing them."

"So you're giving me the job!?" Star asked excitedly.

"I am. Welcome aboard, Doctor. But first I need to know you're real name since we'll be working together." Clark explained.

"Oh of course."

Star got up and held her hand out to her new boss, knowing an exciting and intriguing career awaited her.

"Call me Connie. Connie Maheswaren."

 **Hope you guys liked my first chapter. I don't have a schedule or anything, but I usually update my stories pretty quickly. I'm also working on A boy named Matthew, so it may take some time for me to add new chapters to this story. And I promise that future chapters will be a lot longer than this first one, so don't go anywhere. Ok Lazuli out!**


	2. Dwelling on the Past

**Just like Arnold said in Terminator Genysis, "I'm back!"**

 **Yep, back with another chapter to my SU fic. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review, follow, fav and PM me for ideas or questions. Enjoy!**

* * *

The hot water from the shower head shot against Connie's body and she let out a sigh of relief as the soothing water cascaded down her brown skin.

It has been a busy first day for Connie at Shooting Star. After Dr. Clark gave her the job he gave her an office just down the hall from his. Her room was identical to Clark's, with the exception that it had a closet at the back corner. Connie spent no time waiting to make it her own. She had emptied out the contents of her satchel and put the various work items in the desk drawers and putting her laptop on the desk. She even went as far as putting a picture of her parents on the edge of the desk, truly making it feel like home.

Right when Connie finished setting up her office Clark knocked on the door and came in.

"So how's my coworker doing in her new office?" He asked.

"I'm doing pretty alright." She said happily. "I've always wanted to have my own office, so it's kind of overwhelming to have one so soon."

"Well I hope you enjoy working here and stay as long as you can." He said encouragingly.

Clark handed her a manila folder. She opened it and looked at the photo of her first patient.

"Got this for you already." He said. "Let me know when you're ready. He lived in Beach City before he was institutionalized here a few years ago. Right up your alley."

"Oh my god." Connie said in disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"I know this man."

"Do you really?" Clark asked intriguingly.

"He always wore those shades cause he thought they were cool. Now he used them to hide his eyepatch from the world." She whispered to herself.

"His name is Buck Dewey." She answered. "I fought alongside him during the first attack on Beach City. Lost his father and his eye."

"Then you should have no problem diagnosing him." Clark assured. "You meet with him tomorrow morning."

That was her first day. Already having to deal with someone she knew. It wasn't that she didn't want to help Buck, but it seemed like no coincidence that she was given the case. Connie felt very uneasy about the whole thing. What was worse was when everyone just left. At the war's end, the people of the world were celebrating worldwide. All those from Beach City went home to party ain't their friends, as did Connie and The Crystal Gems.

Everyone was there. The survivors of the townspeople, the original 9 Crystal Gems, and the new army of Gems that had rebelled as well.

Before the war began Steven Universe, The Son of Rose Quartz and Connie's best friend, began healing all the corrupted gems they had captured and returning them back to their normal forms. Pretty soon the number of healed gems reached to the ten thousands, and people had to built new homes for the Gems in the town.

So when the first attack came it Beach City, the new Army Of Crystal Gems fought back and when the war went worldwide they gems helped the humans out to the best of their ability. It took 4 long years but eventually Homeworld gave up and left Earth defeated.

Then that fateful night came...

The Crystal Gems were throwing a huge party in Beach City. Connie and Steven got to hang out with the townspeople and were honored as war heroes. Then the party died down later that night and everyone went home. Connie went home with Steven and the original gems that night. Everyone was about to go to bed, but Steven wanted everyone in the living room.

When everyone gathered, Steven spoke.

"The first thing I want to say is that I'm proud of all you guys have done for Earth. I'm happy to have survived this War with all of you still alive and still my family. Thank you guys for everything. I love you guys, always and forever."

Tears went down everyone's cheeks as they listened to their leader's kind words and as they reflected on everything they lost.

"Now that that's been said, I want you all to know something." Steven continued. "The War has affected humans in ways gems cannot even begin to fathom, simply because you're gems. Humans and gems will always be different, so please try to understand what I'm about to say." He took a deep breath, concerning everyone. "Millions are dead, both people and gems. Each and every death is on my hands. I failed to protect everyone, therefore I myself have also lost the war. I can never forgive myself, nor allow any of you to forgive me. I'm not a gem. I'm not a human. I am a monstrosity that failed his planet. I'm no hero. I don't deserve praise or friendship. I am just...broken. I am dead inside. A rebel without a cause to rebel for anymore. So I have made a decision. I am leaving. I'm leaving Beach City, and leaving the Crystal Gems behind with it."

Everyone went ballistic.

"No Steven, you're not a monster!" Said Pearl.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to us!" Said Amethyst.

Garnet literally unfused by the turmoil.

"But you saved the planet! You saved all of us! And you saved me..." Said Lapis.

"We need you Steven. We love you, please don't go!" Pleaded Jasper.

"No don't leave us, let us fix this!" Said Ruby.

"How could I not foresee this?" Cried Sapphire.

"How could you do this to us?" Asked Peridot.

"GUYS!" Steven shouted, shocking everyone, including Connie.

"Listen guys. None of you have wronged me in any way, but there is nothing anybody can do to help me except myself. My father is dead, so there is no one else who can help me get through this midlIfe crisis. I need time to find out who I am. Am I a gem, or am I a human? Either way, I am alone. No gem knows what it means to be a human, and no human knows what it means to be a gem. I don't know how to fit in in this mess, and that's hurts almost as much as the war has hurt me. So I have decided to leave this life behind and I won't return until I know who I am. I'm no hero. I'm just a boy who hasn't grown up yet. I need time to defeat my demons, which might possibly be forever. I love you guys, more than you'll ever know. I don't want to hurt you, so I have to leave. I'm sorry guys. I hope you can understand."

"We understand, Steven." Sapphire said in tears. "It doesn't take future vision to understand, we're your family."

The gems nodded. Connie still hadn't said anything.

"I have to leave now, but first I want to give you something."

Steven went up to his room and came back down with a knife in his hand.

"Don't stop me please. It'll make sense hopefully in the future." He said.

He lifted his shirt up to reveal his gem. Then he positioned the tip of the knife by his get and began to pry it out. He let out several screams and grunts, and blood leaked out around the gem. Some of the Gems looked away, but Connie watched as Steven succeeded in cutting out his gemstone. He took the pink Rose Quartz gem and set it back on his bed.

"I don't want anybody to ever disturb my gem. It needs to stay safe until I return." Steven explained

"Now it is time for my departure. Come here guys." He said hold in out his arms.

One by one the Gems went over and gave Steven the best hug they could muster. Jasper came real close to crushing him.

"J-Jasper, I can't breathe." He stuttered.

"Sorry. I'm just gonna miss you so much. Huh. Four years ago I never thought I'd care for you so much." She sniffled.

"I'm going to miss you too, Jasper. All of you."

Steven grabbed a bag he had packed, his guitar and ukulele and walked outside the door.

"Wait!" Connie shouted, giving chase to her friend as she exited the Beach house.

"I'm happy you followed me, Connie." He said. "I needed to talk to you in private."

"Do you have to leave? Please don't do this to me, I need you! You're everything in the universe to me, my best friend, my liege, my jam bud! I'm begging you Steven. Please don't go." Connie wept.

"Connie." Steven stepped closer to her, to the point where their noses were almost touching.

"I have to do this. I have no choice. I don't want to hurt you, and if I can't save everyone in the world, then I can't trust myself to be here with you guys. I'm endangering you, which is the last thing I want."

"But Steven, I-" Connie began.

She didn't finish though, because Steven wrapped his arms around her body, help her closed, and kissed her. Connie melted in his embrace, his lips sending her neurons bouncing all over her brain and making her knees very weak.

There they shared their first kiss, and they stood there like that for what seemed like an eternity in Heaven.

Then he pulled away and gazed into her eyes, making Connie's face turn red.

"Connie Maheswaren, I'm in love with you. I have been ever since I saw you at that parade all those years ago. You are the only girl to ever make me feel as special as you are to me. Which is why my departure is even harder to bear, knowing I'm leaving behind my family...and the girl of my dreams."

"Steven. I love you too." Replied Connie, tears streaming down her face."We all do. Please don't leave me. How can I survive on my own without the love of my life?"

"I will come back. I promise I will come home when I am ready. But I don't know when that will be. Promise me one thing, Connie. Watch after the Gems for me. They need a new leader, someone to rely on. And the rest of the Crystal Gems, the nose w/o used to be corrupt? Be their leader as well. Make sure everyone is happy and together and peaceful. If they want to leave and see the world for themselves, then let them. Just promise me Connie. Promise me you'll do that for me."

"I promise." She assured him. "I won't let you down."

Steven smiled and kissed her forehead. "My Connie."

He released his grip on her and began walking away, down the stairs and across the Sandy beach. He called out to Lion, who came by his side, and hopped on. Steven turned around once and waved to Connie in the distance, then Lion made a warp to who knows where, and they disappeared into the night.

Everything went downhill after that. The Army of New Crystal Gems, all the ones who used to be corrupted that Steven had healed, began setting out to live new lives. Within 2 months they all had left Beach City.

The Original Crystal Gems, Steven's family, quickly became bitter towards one another. Fights constantly started, arguments over why Steven left became common events in the house, and Garnet permanently unfused, having the love lost between Ruby and Sapphire.

Jasper was the first to leave.

"Screw all of you, I'm done! Have fun being alone for the rest of your days without me!" She shouted as she departed. Connie tried to stop her, but Jasper left anyway, saying she wasn't needed anymore.

Amethyst went next. Then Ruby, Peridot, Lapis, Sapphire, until it was just Pearl and Connie.

"I can't live her anymore. Too many bad meet in this place." Pearl told Connie the day she too, had left.

"I used to admire all of you. Your strengths and weaknesses, problems and insecurities. But now, I've realized that you all are just too much. I honestly don't know why Steven cared about you all so much anymore." Connie said coldly, tired of playing nice.

"Do you think he'll come one day?" Pearl asked with a little hope.

"Honestly I hope Steven never comes back. He doesn't have a family to come home to anymore. His father Greg died in the War and you gems are acting like a bunch of screw ups. You don't deserve him. None of you do."

Those were Connie's last words to Pearl when she left.

Ever since then, Connie has been living in Steven's beach house, alone with her thoughts. She had returned to her habits prior to meeting Steven, being antisocial, always reading, never trying to search for the Original Gems. She has seen some of the uncorrupted gems around town, and other outside of town with jobs or hybrid families of their own, it never of the originals. Connie hoped she never saw any of them again. Her hate and anger towards the Gems had grown over the years, to the point where all the pictures of the Gems in the Beach house had been stored away in a box. Even their faces filled Connie with rage. Even though she resented them deeply, she would find herself doing things that the Gems would always do. Connie purposely made messes like Amethyst would just so she could clean them up like Pearl. She'd go swimming a lot like Lapis. She train using a punching bag like Jasper did. If it was a sunny day she'd wear custom made shades that resembled Garnet's shades. Not to mention her disassembling various machines around the house and rebuilding them like Peridot would constantly do. If Connie was especially lonely she'd have conversations with herself and pretended to be the Gems and have discussions. She'd pretend to be Pearl chiding Amethyst for her lousy table manners and Amethyst would argue back about how she can eat however she wants to. She'd be Garnet, the voice of reason, scolding them both into submission until they apologized to each other and made up.

One distinct thing Connie remembered the months leading up to the Gems leaving is that whenever there was a huge argument between 2 of the Gems, the rest would takes since against each other and try to resolve their differences in peaceful ways. It usually always failed and they would almost always end up in a huge fight against each other. The worst fight was when The Original Crystal Gems and The Former Homeworld Gems went at it. The originals would say things like they weren't Crystal Gems and they are the reason the war started and why Steven left. Then things went physical, which was pretty standard during those tension filled days. It quickly went too far. The originals had fought Jasper and Peridot until they yielded, but in one swift motion Lapis formed a pair of giant water hands and crushed the originals. They poofed and Lapis came real close to shattering their gems, but Connie stopped her. Even Jasper and Peridot stopped Lapis, as they both agreed with Connie that shattering them was going too far.

Pretty soon after that it was like Democrats and Republicans in the house. The Homeworld Gems and Amethyst vs Pearl, Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire. Occasionally there were switches, as both Amethyst and Lapis would sometimes side with the originals. Amethyst mostly sided with the Homeworld Gems because she was a defect and she wanted to know more about Homeworld and normal Amethysts. Plus she hated Pearl with a passion.

In the beginning Connie did her best to help everyone, but eventually she just gave up and remained as an independent in all their conflicts. Unbeknownst to the Gems, Connie was feeling the worst out of all of them. They didn't know about Steven's promise. Only she carried that burden, and she felt like she had failed Steven. He trusted her, loved her, and relied on her, and she had given up. She was no leader like him. She didn't deserve to have such a great friend. She didn't deserve his friendship or love or kindness. She deserved to be alone for the rest of her days, and she still had nightmares of the night Steven left. He wouldn't hug or miss her like he did. Instead he'd give her a menacing glare and shout out horrible things to her as she sat down in tears and begged for his forgiveness.

"I trusted you." He snarled. "I thought I put my family in good hands when left them with you, it apparently I thought wrong. You fucking piece of shit friend, how could you do this to me? You should've died in that war. I should've just given you to Yellow Diamond, she would've had good fun torturing you. I'd rather have my father back than see you walking around and breathing in your unearned air. Fuck you, go to Help you bitch. WHORE!"

"Steven, please forgive me!" Connie cried out. "I did my best, and I failed you. I'm so, so sorry, Steven, my love. Is there anything I can do to make up for what I've done?"

"Actually there is." He replied with a wicked grin.

He slowly reached behind his back and pulled out something long and shiny. Then she realizes it was his sword. Before she could escape Steven plunged the blade into her chest right up to the hilt. She gasped as she looked down and saw her own blood leaking from the wound, but what horrified her even more was the fact that her blood wasn't red. It was **black.**

"You can die." He said, twisting the blade and increasing the pain tenfold. Connie screamed out in agony in response.

"S-S-Steven." She stuttered, vision fading, blood filling her mouth. "I'm so sorry..."

Then she'd wake up screaming.

Because of her time in the war, she instinctively grabbed her sword from nearby and slashed at the darkness that surrounded her. It took her a minute or so to regain her senses, then she'd spend hours on end bawling her eyes out and waiting for the Gems to come running out of their rooms to find and comfort her. Then she remembered that they all left and she couldn't stop them, which made her bawl even harder. She'd sit in his old bed crying and screaming his name out until her throat was hoarse and her eyes her puffy. She'd lay there in bed, hugging and cuddling with Steven's gem, silently cursing herself, until she passed out of exhaustion.

Eventually the townspeople began to notice Connie's behavior and personality change drastically. They knew about Steven's departure, and the Gems disbanding, but they never knew how bad it all was taking a toll on Connie. Over time Connie began shutting herself out from the world, more so than she was before meeting Steven. She became a recluse, only leaving the house to get groceries. The people of Beach City knew to leave her alone, and so that's how it's been for the last decade for Connie.

Which brings us to the present. Connie got her job at Shooting Star not only to help those with mental illnesses and PTSD, but also so she could secretly get therapy for herself when she helped her patients. Buck seemed like a good start. She could talk to him about the war and give him a diagnosis, but so she could talk about her nightmares and visions. She had kept the details from people forever, never telling a soul, not ever parents.

Since Connie began shutting herself out from the world, she never learned about how the world was changing. She only read books that were written before the war, watched movies from before, and never listened to new music. She lived in her own world, a cycle of bitter memories and despair. She never left town, either.

And never tried to find the Gems.

Or Steven.

Connie turned the shower off, and stepped out. She dried her body off with a nearby towel and opened the bathroom door and exited the room.

She went up to the bed, where she always left her clothes for after she showered. To her surprise, though, they were gone.

Connie, thinking she just forgot to get her clothes out, went over to her closet door and opened it, only to find that all her clothes were gone.

Connie immediately grabbed her sword and crept down the stairs back to the bathroom, grabbing the towel she used and wrapped it around her body. Now covered by the towel, she began to search the house for any intruder there might be. She heard a noise coming from inside the door that led to the Gems' rooms.

"Hello?" Connie called out to the door.

Behind her she saw a pink glow from the bed. She went over, up the stairs and found that the pink glow was Steven's gem.

"What on Earth..." She said before picking up the gem and walking back to the door.

The pink gem on the door glowed as well, and to Connie's shock the door to Rose's room opened. Connie, unsure of what to do, crept into the room.

In the pink fluffy clouds that made up the room, he saw somebody. When she recognized the person she gasped.

"Soren? Soren Spessartine?"

"Hello Connie." He replied with a smile.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" She asked in confusion.

He ran a hand through his long, fire colored hair. "I'm here to talk to you."

"Did you steal my clothes?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"I did, but only to get your attention." He said sheepishly. "Room, give Connie her clothes please."

Connie's clothes poofed into existence in her hands, making her drop the sword.

"I did see anything. You were still in the shower." Soren assured. He turned around so she could get dressed.

After Connie dropped her towel and put her clothes on, she told Soren he could turn around.

After turning to face her again, he said something that took Connie by surprise.

"I'm happy I found you. There's something I need to show you."

He reached into the pocket of his star spangled hoodie and pulled out an old gem communicator used in the war.

"When myself and the New Crystal Gem Army decided to go set out across the Earth after the war ended, we hadn't known that Steven would leave you guys. We found out that he left and the Crystal Gems disbanded, and that filled us with much sadness. You see, we wanted to all have a get together on the anniversary of the Battle of Delmarva, the first battle of the war, to honor the dead and to celebrate our victory, much like your American Independence Day."

"Well sorry your plans didn't work out, but what does that have to do with me?" Connie asked the former Crystal Gem general.

"We decided to keep in touch via communicators like this one until one of us found him, but there hasn't been word since then." He handed the communicator to Connie and she accepted it.

"Until now." He finished.

Connie looked at the communicator and read the lone message. It was Steven, she could recognize by the shooting star symbol he used as his callsign whenever he used a communicator to talk to the Gem Army during the war. It was definitely him.

Tears welled up in Connie's eyes as the sudden rush of excitement and anticipation overwhelmed her.

"Oh my stars..." She whispered in awe.

The message was 3 simple words, but they were enough to fill Connie with hope.

"Connie." Spoke Soren. "If we ever want the chance to see him again, we need to do the impossible. We need to get the Crystal Gems back together. I don't just mean the New Crystal Gems either. We need to find the Originals. Will you help me find them?"

Connie looked at Soren, then to the message, back to Soren, then back to the message.

10 years. She had lost her love for 10 long years of her miserable life. She had broken her promise to him and this was the only way to redeem herself.

She took a deep breath before giving Soren the greatest smile she had had in a very long time.

"Yes, Soren. I will help you."

"Good." He said with relief. "We'll begin searching after your job tomorrow."

With that, using the god-like gem powers that came from the gem at the tip of his tongue, he flew out of Rose's room and right out the Better house door.

Connie looked at the message and promised herself that she'd complete Steven's request and that she would do everything in her power to accomplish the task he had given her via the message. She would do it for him...

The message read:

 **Come find me.**

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 **Here's chapter 2 of my first Steven Universe fanfic. I've already gotten a good amount of support on this story, so I'll continue this story until the end.**

 **How will Connie find Steven? Will the Gems put aside their differences and become a family once again, or is it already too late for them? You'll find out...in the next chapter!**

 **Until then, Lazuli out!**

 **P.s, if you have any ideas you'd like for me to add to this story, or an idea for another story, just PM me or contact me via the contact info on my profile. Ok, peace guys!**


	3. The Search Begins

**Day 1 of Search**

 **September 23, 2031, 9:45am**

 **Shooting Star Psychiatric Hospital**

Connie sat at her desk in anticipation as she waited for her first patient at this job, Buck Dewey, to arrive at her office. While she tapped her fingers on her closed laptop and listened to her music playing through the laptop speakers, she thought about her encounter with Soren the night before.

Of all the people who would try to bring everyone back together, it would be Soren. After all, he was a general during the war and had abilities so powerful that even the diamonds were unnerved by him. He was a failed gem experiment from long ago, a mixture of gem and diamond shards. What the Diamonds were expecting was a planet destroying Geoweapon, much like the Cluster, but instead got Soren, a new type of hybrid gem with many unusual powers. For one, his gem was on the tip of his tongue, giving him an advantage over most other gems. He side have one type of weapon, but rather a variety of them. Duel swords with blades of titanium, a double edged spear, and a large spiked mace.

He also had what could only be described as superpowers. He was a master of elemental powers, such as fire, water, earth, and air, and he had things like telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, flight, and the strangest of all, probability manipulation. He was clearly a gem of god-like stature and was a very powerful ally in the fight against Homeworld. For the longest time the original Crystal Gems, along with Connie herself, didn't trust him, especially Garnet because of his probability manipulation. He'd screw up her future vision by changing the probabilities of the battles and they were at each other's throats for most of the duration of the war.

There was a knock at the door, bringing Connie back to the task at hand. She turned off her music and closed the laptop again before answering.

"Come in."

The door opened and Buck stepped in. Connie had to hold back a gasp due to the fact that Buck's appearance hadn't changed since the war. He wore the exact outfit we would always wear before the wore a white t-shirt with a yellow star in the center under a red jacket, jeans and his shades, hiding the eyepatch on his left eye.

"Hello, are you Dr. Maheswaren?" He asked, unaware that the Maheswaren he spoke to was his friend from years ago.

"Yes I am." She said with a warm smile. "Take a seat, Mr. Dewey."

Buck nervously shuffled over to the cushioned seat across from Connie and sat down.

"So what brings you to my office, Mr. Dewey?" Connie asked him, revelling in the fact that he didn't recognize her.

"Well, my wife Kiki told me I needed to be acquitted to a mental hospital years ago when I started having night terrors. I've been a resident for a few years now, but no one's been able to help make them to away." He explained, hanging his head low. "They've been getting worse."

"Well the first thing I need to know to be of assistance to you is what makes you have these nightmares?" Connie pushed on.

"Well..." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not something I like talking about to people unless they're friends or family."

"Do you feel intimidated by me because I'm a stranger?"

"Yes I do. Very much so." Said Buck.

"Lift up your shades." Connie instructed.

"I'd rather not. I have an injury that makes me insecure when someone sees it."

"Just do it." She pressed. "I'm about to prove that you can trust me. Lift up your shades."

At first, Buck didn't comply. Then after a minute of silently staring at each other, he slowly reached up and took off his shades, revealing the black eyepatch with a yellow star in the center, the symbol of The Crystal Gems.

"You sustained that injury in The Second Gem War." Connie stated.

Buck gave her a bewildered look. "How did you-"

"You were given that eyepatch by a young girl many years ago after The Battle of Beach City." Connie continued. "You tried to take a Homeworld Hiddenite head on with your sword in hand, but she was too quick for you to react. She sidestepped your attack, kicked you in your stomach, and as you were temporarily stunned she slashed at your eye. Then immediately after that happened the girl who gave that eyepatch to you charged with her sword and hacked off the Hiddenite's sword arm, followed by her right arm. As the hostile gem howled in agony the girl cut off her legs in one swing, then she stomped on the Hiddenite's forehead where her gem was located, effectively killing the gem."

Buck just sat there, eyes wide, jaw hanging open.

"And want to know how I know that?" Connie asked.

"H-how?" He asked.

"Because." Connie answered. "It took me forever for me to hand-make that damned patch. The star took even longer."

Buck was confused at first. Then he gave her a face of absolute shock.

"Connie?"

Connie got up from her chair and walked over to his seat with her arms outstretched.

"Come here, old friend." She said, grinning from ear to ear.

Now a psychiatrist is supposed to take their job seriously, business comes first. Their not supposed to get personal with their patients or have friends over to their work place. This is a place of work, and psychiatrists have jobs to do.

Which is why it is perfectly acceptable to say that Connie did not do her job at all.

Instead of asking Buck how his nightmares make him feel or prescribing him some drugs to cease his nightmares, the old companions talked about how things have been after the war had ended. Buck told Connie about how he got married to Kiki Pizza and has 2 kids, a boy and a girl, named Jack and Jill, after the fairytale siblings by the same names, and while his life had been going, which sounded pretty decent for a war veteran. Connie sadly recalled Steven's departure and the tragic events that followed soon after. Then Connie told Buck about her own nightmares and how lonely and isolated the Beach House was now that everyone was gone. Then she shared her encounter with Soren the night before.

"So Soren is trying to get the Crystal Gems back together, and Steven wants you to come find him?" He asked after hearing everything.

"Yeah." Connie answered. "Matter of fact, since you're my only appointment, I'm going to start searching for everyone with Soren after you leave."

"Well, if it's okay, I'd like to ask you something." Said Buck.

"Of course. Ask away."

"Can I help? I have one of those communicators at home, and so does Kiki."

Connie thought it over for a second, then gave him an answer.

"You know what? That would be awesome. You can help by getting every gem you and Kiki are in touch with and gather them all at the Beach house. We have room in Rose's room, the Former Burning Room, and there are still those houses up and down the beach from when the New Gem Army lived on the shore. It may take some time, but we can do it. Can you and Kiki do thar?"

"Yes, we'd do anything for you and Steven." Buck replied. "On that note, I'll go ahead and go back to my room, or my cell, or whatever you call it, and start messaging Kiki and the Gems I know."

"Thank you, Buck. It means a lot."

"No problem." He said, putting on his shades and walking over to the door. He gripped the knob, but before he left he said one more thing.

"You said it was isolated and you don't listen to newer music?" He asked.

"Right." Said Connie.

"Well." He said. "There's a musician/singer you really need to learn about. He's really good, and world renowned. His stage name is Mr. Universe."

* * *

 **10:30am**

After finishing up some paperwork and checking out for the day, Connie gathered her things and left Shooting Star. While she was walking home she was surprised by a sudden gust of wind from right next to her. She turned to see what caused the sudden wind and found that Soren had just landed next to her.

"You just now leaving?" He asked.

"Yep, just finished up for the day." She answered. "Just had a nice little reunion with Buck Dewey."

"The guy you made the eyepatch for?"

Connie nodded. "Him and his wife are going to help us find the gems."

"Good, we need Al the help we can get." Soren said, before pulling out his communicator.

"I used my communicator's Global Positioning System to locate the Gems we are looking for. Since the original gems were the only ones of their kind on Earth, all we have to do is track them down and convince them to come home."

"Were you able to find Steven on it?" Connie asked, filling with hope again.

"No, unfortunately I couldn't. I guess hybrids didn't show up on gem technology." Soren answered, sadness laced within his voice.

"Well, what's our first move?"

"We need to gather as many volunteers to help search as possible." Soren explained. "The gems are sanctioned in America, so we don't have to search the whole planet. Then me and you will personally go and bring the Gems home one by one until we have them all back in Beach City. Then we go after Steven."

"Sounds like a plan." Connie approved. "Let's spread out and get people to meet at the temple. We can use the Beach House and the old gem houses as our base of operations. If they don't cooperate at first, tell them Connie sent you."

"Got it, boss." Soren said. "See you in a bit."

Then with that he took flight and flew off into downtown Beach City.

And with that, the search began.

* * *

Connie and Soren spent a solid few hours gathering volunteers, but the townspeople, upon hearing that their savior and his family would be back, desperately wanted to help anyway they could to get them back. By 1:00, everyone in town were at the shore at the houses and were having a convention to share ideas and information about the gems or Steven. To Connie's surprise, some of the New Crystal Gems who lived in Beach City still also showed up, wanting to help. Gems and former soldiers who had communicators and phones were talking to everyone they knew, human and gem, and we're looking for anything that would be of assistance.

"Ok everybody." Connie announced, using a megaphone. "Former General Soren said that y using the communicator's Global Positioning System, he has discovered the locations of the Original Crystal Gems. We want you to finds friends and family living around these gems to feed us information such as their addresses, their jobs, and their regular hangout spots. Does anybody have anything yet?"

The people had each gem's relative location on the GPS, but most of them just shook their heads in disappointment.

Then amongst the sad mourners of the crowd, one of them spoke up.

"I know where one of the Gems are." A woman with blonde hair said.

"Really? Which one?" Soren asked.

"I know where Amethyst is." The woman said, walking up to where Connie and Soren were standing. "I've been in contact with her on a communicator she gave me ever since she left. In fact I was talking to her before you gathered us here."

"You look familiar." Connie said. "What's your name?"

"My name is Vidalia." She said. "Amethyst and I have been friends for years, and when she skipped town she told me she wanted a long distance friendship with me still."

"Where is she now?" Asked Soren.

"She's in Florida. Miami to be specific." Answered Vidalia.

"Ok, we have a location on Amethyst, everyone!" Connie informed the crowd

The townspeople cheered.

"Connie and I will set out for Miami first thing in the morning tomorrow." Soren added, resulting in more cheers from the volunteers.

"We're going to do this together, so it would be best if everybody moved into the old gem houses while we work on bringing back the Gems." Connie instructed. Everyone to back to your home's and gather everything you can carry and move into the old houses. Then you may return to your normal everyday activities, but remain alert! Gather as much information as you can on the Gems and Steven. We need to bring them home as fast as possible. Carry on."

The crowd dispersed at Connie's orders and went about to complete them.

"I know I have to do this, but why are you coming along?" Connie asked Soren.

"Because it's Amethyst." He replied, looking quite flustered all of a sudden. "I'm in love with her."

"Oh. Then it would make sense for you to come along." Connie said back.

"I'm going to fly around the surrounding cities and try to recruit more searchers."

"Good plan."

Without saying anything further, Soren flew away, leaving Connie alone to ponder her thoughts on her current situation.

She was overwhelmed with emotion by how many people offered to help. Sure, Beach City wasn't the biggest city, but after that war many more people came to live in the city where the first battle took place, a battlefield of Gettysburg standards. With so many people going to help her, including Soren, she'd be reunited with her Biscuit in no time.

She had hope.

But if the war taught her another at all

It was that hope was a dangerous thing.

* * *

 **10:35pm**

 **Beach House**

Connie went to sleep that night hoping that the nightmares would stop for at least one night.

The nightmares basically gave her a big Fuck You in response.

Connie found herself surrounded in total darkness. When she tried to move, she discovered that she had been confined to some really tiny room, like a box, but she couldn't move at all. Panic quickly set in and Connie began to hyperventilate. She had always been claustrophobic and somewhat afraid of the dark, but this was pure nightmare fuel for her.

She began to fight against the restricted confines of the room, or whatever it is. The more she struggled the softer the room walls got. Then she realized that she wasn't in a room.

She was in a hole.

The dirt around her began to soften, letting Connie sink deeper into the hole. Terrified beyond belief, she pushed forward, creating a small hole in the Earth in front of her and allowing a small beam of light open through. Connie frantically clawed at the hole, making larger and larger still until with one mighty shove, she came tumbling out of the hole.

After she picked herself up from the ground, she looked up at the hole only to gasp with shock.

The hole was human shaped. And all around that hole were hundreds more. But they were larger, taller, more broad shouldered.

Connie was in a Kindergarten.

Suddenly a rope wrapped around Connie's legs and pulled her to the ground.

As she layed on the ground, she looked behind herself and saw that it was a whip. Following the whip to its owner, Connie displayed a mixed look of fear and confusion.

"Amethyst?"

The purple gem stared at Connie with an expression that suggested Amethyst wanted to hurt her. Angry eyes, clenched teeth, veins bulging.

"How does it like knowing you were a mistake, a monster who lived in a hole?" She asked angrily.

Before Connie could say anything, the gem began dragging her over to a nearby Injector that had its drill whirring at full speed.

"No, no no no, please no!" Connie desperately pleaded, digging her fingers into the soil to stop herself. But her distressed cries fell on deaf ears, and now the drill was positively over her stomach. The drill dove into her, disemboweling her and splattering her innards everywhere.

"Pity this is just a dream." Amethyst said to Connie while she bled out. "I'd love to have the chance of doing this in real life."

Connie woke up in hysteria.

She sprung up and immediately began sobbing loudly and choking on her own tears. She was trembling in fear and started hyperventilating.

Then to her surprise, Soren appeared sitting next to her on the bed and tried to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight but and said sweet things to calm her down.

"Shhh, it's okay Connie." He assured. "It was just a bad dream, none of it is real. You're safe."

After realizing that Soren was right, Connie settled down and just sat there in Soren's warm and comforting embrace.

"It was Amethyst." She finally said. "She killed me."

"You're not dead and Amethyst is still in Florida." Soren said. Then we looked over and saw Steven's gem sitting on the bed next to her pillow. He grabbed it and put it in her hands.

"It'll be over soon. The gems and Steven will be back in a while, and the bad dreams will stop. I promise you. Just hang on for a bit longer."

Connie, tears in her eyes, stared at the gem in her hands.

"Will they try to love each other again?" She asked.

"I sure hope they do. If not for themselves, they will for Steven."

"Will Steven ever forgive me?"

Soren didn't respond immediately, he hesitated. He thought about everything they've been through together. He pictured everyone resenting each other at first, but as time went on they learned how to love each other again. He believed it could happen, he knew it would.

Connie had broken a promise. But time heals all wounds.

"You know what, Connie. I think he'll understand. After all, he is the son of Rose Quartz."

* * *

 **There you go guys, the search begins! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

 **I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, but special thanks to Dante Watterson for letting me use his OC Soren Spessartine in my story. I made up a few things about him so it could better fit the story, but all credibility goes to him. Thanks Dante, I hope I didn't make Soren unlikable for you (;**

 **Be sure to review, follow and favorite this story for more chapters, and PM me for thoughts and ideas.**

 **Take care everyone and I'll see you in the next chapter. Lazuli out!**


	4. Amethyst

**Hey guys, sorry it's been a little while since I've updated, I went on a trip to Florida for a week and I had no time to work on the chapter then. I started this chapter before I left and I finished it sometime after I got back, so enjoy.**

 **Fyrblaze: No way in Hell that's going to happen, sorry. But the second gem you mentioned will have a new look, but it may not be a good one ;)**

 **Also, when Connie starts the song on her phone, listen to The sound of silence. There's the original version by Simon and Garfunkel, and the version by Disturbed, either one Is fine but I'd recommend listening to both. That's all, enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Day 2 of Search**

 **September 24, 2031, 12:30pm**

 **Outskirts of Beach City**

The next day Connie was in her car driving out of Beach City. When she and Soren were discussing how they'd get to Florida, Connie decided she would just drive the whole way there and Soren would fly. Although Soren would get there before she would, Connie would be the first to talk to each gem they searched for. Soren would come in and do whatever he needed to do to convince the Gems to have trust in Connie, and they would one by one all be taken home. Seemed pretty simple. While Soren waited for Connie's arrival, he'd most likely go sightseeing or exploring Florida, giving him something to do.

That was their plan. So far it was working.

As Connie passed the Welcome to Beach City sign, she took out her phone from her purse, plugged it into her car's auxiliary port, and played her music. While she started to sing along to Jukebox Hero (a song that strongly reminded her of Steven) she thought back to what Buck had told her, about a singer named Mr. Universe. There's no coincidence for him sharing that information with her. Maybe it really was Steven. It would make sense for her not to have heard of the singer, considering that she'd practically become a recluse in the gems' absence. Either way, Steven or not, Connie was interested in hearing this man's music.

When she was stopped by a red light she went on her Spotify music app and typed in Mr. Universe in the app's search bar. She found 3 different albums by the artist and she tapped on one called "Classic Covers." Then she tapped on a song called "The sound of silence." She knew the original song and the remake by Disturbed very well. She knew she'd like the song even if it wasn't Steven. Then right when the light turned green and she accelerated, the song started.

She gasped.

The voice was beautiful.

Alien. Yet, so familiar.

It was that moment that it was confirmed. Mr. Universe was her jam bud.

Even the lyrics sounded like something he'd sing.

As she listened to Steven's voice sing the already beautiful song, tears filled her eyes for two reason. One reason being that she desperately missed him. The other reason being that the lyrics took here back to the war, one specific moment that really opened her eyes.

* * *

 **Beginning of Flashback**

It was after The Battle of Beach City, the first battle of the war. The New Crystal Gems and it's various human allies were doing things you would do after you survive a major battle. Checking equipment, burying the bodies, or in most cases the shards, searching to see if friends are alive, eating, you get the idea.

Connie was talking via video chat to her parents, who were safe and sound in a military base located in New York. Of course being her parents, they had many concerned questions for her, like have you been hurt, did they win the battle, will she be staying to fight or leaving and coming to the base they were at. After answering all their questions Connie ended the call so she could get back to helping the Crystal Gems prepare. When she put her phone away she was about to get up when she noticed something.

She sat their on a crate and watched the Gems and Human soldiers do their various tasks. She could seemingly hear everyone's voices; some were talking, some were barking orders, some were crying over their losses, Connie could hear all of this, and before long all the voices were gradually going silent, even though they were still moving their mouths. Then the voices stopped altogether. Connie couldn't hear them anymore, despite their mouths moving. The silence was loud, almost piercing in her ears and she began to think about everything that's happened. She just survived a war battle. A fucking child survived an alien onslaught, and she was looking at the aftermath.

She thought about the people and gems who lost someone they cared about. It was worse for the Gems because of their long lifespans. Just imagine being practically immortal, and having to live the rest of Eternity without someone you care about. It made Connie feel guilty for being mortal, because she could die and see her loved ones in Heaven if they were to fall in battle.

It was the first time Connie actually regretted being human.

While she sat there with her thoughts a flash of light appeared in the sky from the Beach house, signaling Steven's return.

He had stealthily made his way through the crowd of fighters to Connie and sat down on the crate next to her.

For the reminder of that night the only voice she could hear was Steven's.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi." Connie said back.

"You holding up okay?" Steven asked with concern in his voice.

"You know what? I think I'm doing alright, at least for my first battle." Connie answered, feeling ashamed for lying to her crush.

"Well, there's something I need to tell you." He went on. "I spoke with Garnet before the fighting started. She used her future vision and told me that we had a miniscule chance of winning this first fight. After she said that she told me that I should always tell those close to me that I care about them before each battle in case I never get the chance to speak to them again."

"Garnet's very wise." Connie replied.

"Not my point." He said, taking her hand. "I never told you earlier, so I'll say it now. Connie Maheswaren, you will never know the honor and privilege it is being your friend. Meeting you was the single greatest thing to ever happen to me. Thank you for being there for me, Connie. It means the world to me."

Before Connie could give a response to his heartbreaking words, the crowd took notice of their leader. Then one by one they bowed to him.

"Hail Universe, the Son of Rose Quartz!" They chanted.

* * *

 **End of Flashback**

The song ended, and Connie brought her attention back to the present. She knew now that Steven was Mr. Universe, and she'd find out anything she could about her friend, but in the meantime she continued her long drive to her destination in Florida. As she drove off into the day, Connie wondered if bringing back Amethyst, or any gem for that matter, would be easy.

Good thing she brought her sword with her.

 **A few days later...**

Connie found herself at her destination of Miami within a few days, and today she found herself in a local coffee shop. She was drinking a glass of green tea and texting Soren on her gem communicator. He said he'd be relaxing on Daytona Beach while she confronted Amethyst, but to call him if anything goes astray.

After finishing up texting him, Connie read a book she loved reading when she was a kid, called The Hunger Games, in wait for Amethyst to show up. Connie had been informed by Vidalia that this coffee shop was a place Amethyst was a regular at on Tuesday mornings like this one.

Vidalia also told Connie that she had picked up a bad habit that the whole city knew the gem for, so she told Connie to proceed with caution when Amethyst showed up.

Which didn't take long. Right around 7am Amethyst walked into the shop and sat down right by the door, unaware that Connie was a few seats away.

A waitress came up the the purple figure. "What would you like today, miss?"

"I'll take the usual." Amethyst answered.

The waitress reached into her pocket for a few straws and gave them to her. Upon closer examination the straws actually turned out to be syringes filled with some sort of liquid. Now Connie understood why Vidalia said she picked up a bad habit. Amethyst was a drug addict.

She wore a different outfit, indicating that she had reformed at some point in the past. Now she wore a purple hoodie with a white star in the center and black stars on the sleeves, accompanied by the same black pants she used to wear before the war and the split up. She had the hood pulled up over her head she also wore black fingerless gloves.

Connie decided that was her time to strike. She had the waitress give her the check, but was surprised to find a note from the waitress instead of a check.

 _Coffee's on me. I knew you were Connie Maheswaren from the war, and I see that you're bringing the Original Crystal Gems back together. Word of advice: Make sure you're ready to get physical with her, she's a feisty one. Good luck._

After taking heed of the waitress' advice, Connie walked over to the table Amethyst was at and sat down across from her.

"Wow." Connie said in disgust. "I go looking for you, and all I find is an addict going nowhere in life."

Amethyst gave Connie a look of confusion, then one of anger very quickly. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I just can't believe this is who you've become." Connie went on, ignoring her question. "Is this what your family would've wanted?"

"I don't have a family, and I don't know who you are, so this conversation is over and I'm leaving. Good bye." Amethyst said before getting up and leaving the shop.

Connie followed her out of the shop into the parking lot to find Amethyst about to shapeshift into a bird and fly away.

"Is this what Steven would have wanted!?" Connie yelled in anger and disapproval.

That made Amethyst stop dead in her tracks. Connie smiled for seeing her plan work out so well. Her smile quickly vanished when Amethyst turned around with anger in her eyes, hands balled into fists.

"What did you just say?" She said in a deep and menacing tone.

"You heard me." Connie said, standing her ground. "Steven would be ashamed to have any relationship with you, friend or otherwise, you drug using, no good lazy-"

Amethyst summoned her whip from her gem and held it in an attack stance.

Connie unsheathed her sword and got in a defensive stance, ready to defend herself.

"Who the Hell do you think you are, bitch!?"

"You can't tell who I am by now? Really? Come on, guess. Guess who I am. Clearly I'm quite ghost from your past, so tell me who I am. Or are you really just that foolish." Connie ranted, then just to piss her off even more she added, "Like Pearl said you were."

That did it for Amethyst. She lashed her whip at Connie at break neck speed, but Connie very easily sidestepped the attack and dashed at her foe. Amethyst wasn't expecting such a straightforward attack, but she quickly threw her whip at Connie's feet, coiling around her ankles and causing her to trip and fall to the ground.

While Connie recovered and tried to untangle the whip from her legs Amethyst summoned two more whips and started to slash at Connie while she was on the ground, forcing her to roll on the ground and dodge the whips. Then Connie got an idea. She spread her legs as wide as she could and Amethyst unwillingly snipped the whip binding Connie's legs, successfully freeing her and allowing her to rise to her feet.

Now on her feet again, Connie rushed at Amethyst, but this time there was nothing the gem could do to stop the attack. Connie evaded her attacks and when she was close enough she bashed the hilt of the sword on Amethyst's forehead, following up with a swift kick to the ribs and sending Amethyst flying a good distance away.

"ARGH, THAT HURT YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Amethyst roared in pain, struggling to her feet.

"Doesn't surprise me a bit." Connie taunted. "It's easy fighting a defective runt like you."

Amethyst let out a ferocious roar and began swinging her whips in a furious frenzy, pushing Connie back and wearing her down from all the dodging, until one of the whips bit into Connie's sword hand. She let out a cry of pain and dropped her sword. Seeing an opportunity, Amethyst wrapped each whip around both of Connie's legs and yanked her to the ground before starting to drag Connie to her.

"DON'T. YOU EVER. CALL ME THAT. AGAIN!" Amethyst shouted with malice in each of her words as she dragged the swordswoman closer. Then when she was close enough Amethyst dropped her whips and punched Connie in the face as hard as she could, sending Connie's senses into a violent tornado of disarray.

Amethyst picked her up by the neck and began choking Connie. Connie could feel her supply of air being cut off and she could see the world start to fade to black.

"Not so tough now, are ya? Got nothing left to say." Amethyst cracked, squeezing Connie's neck harder, making her choke and gasp for air.

Amethyst began to laugh. The insane, hysterical kind of laugh as Connie's life continued to slip away.

Then Amethyst saw something shine on Connie's neck.

Curious as to what it was, she loosened her grip and looked at the necklace Connie wore.

The one with each of the Gems.

And she gasped.

She immediately dropped Connie onto the pavement. The swordswoman gasped in big gulps of air and let her sight return to normal.

Amethyst just stood there and stared, a look of shock and disbelief on her face.

"C-Connie?"

"Yes, it's me Amethyst." Connie said in between gasps for air.

Amethyst grabbed her by the shoulders and hoisted her to her feet, frantically looking up and down for injuries.

"How hurt are you, are you okay? Can you move all your arms and legs?" Amethyst asked away in concern for her former roommate.

"I'm okay, just a few bruises and scratches, but that punch will definitely give me a black eye." Connie informed, sensing both guilt and remorse from the gem warrior.

"Why didn't you just tell me who you were? I could have killed you!" Amethyst questioned, concern now turning to frustration.

"If I told you who I was or why I'm here, you wouldn't believe me." Connie answered, retrieving and sheathing her sword in it's scabbard. "I have something I need to tell you."

"What's so important for you to track me down and provoke me like that?" Questioned Amethyst.

Connie took a deep breath, exhaled, then spoke.

"Steven wants us to find him."

 **September 27, 2031, 11:00am**

 **Sunny Side Coffee Shop**

"So Steven's really coming home?" Amethyst asked after Connie explained everything.

"It would appear so, yes." Connie replied after taking a sip from her coffee.

"But why would you come looking for us? How will bringing us back together solve anything?"

"Well." Connie began. "Steven is the reason you all left. You began to resent each other and all your differences split you up. I think he somehow found out, so he wants us to be reunited and he can come home to his family."

"Yep, sounds like something Steven would do. He was always forcing us to get along together. Just like his mother." Amethyst said, a hint of sadness in her words.

"So now what? Do I just come home to Beach City and wait for the others to come back?"

"That's the plan." Connie confirmed.

"But wait, who was it that gave you the idea to find us?" The gem asked.

"It was a former Crystal Gem General, Soren Spessartine." Answered Connie.

"Omigod, Soren!?" She gasped. "Does he know I'm here?"

"Yes, he's in Florida. He wanted me to talk to you first. Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason, just curious." Amethyst responded, eyes darting away from Connie's eyes, looking quite nervous.

"Ookay." Connie said dismissively. "Well, we'd better get going then. Let's go."

 **September 30, 2031, 9:00pm**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

 **The Beach House**

"So you've been living here ever since we split up?" Asked Amethyst, standing in the middle of her old home.

"Yep. Became a recluse. Shut off the world. Worse years of my life, being alone in this house. But now there'll be some familiar faces coming around pretty soon, so I'm hopeful." Connie shared.

"Is...is it okay if I go into my room? Adjust back to living in my precious garbage?"

"Go on ahead." Said Soren, gesturing towards the temple door. "It's all yours."

An excited Amethyst summoned her room to open with her gem and practically dove right in, giggling like a hyper schoolgirl.

"Well, that when well." Connie said.

"You were almost killed." Soren reminded.

"She had good reason for protecting herself. Most drug addicts are like that. Always paranoid and aggressive. But then again, she always was aggressive, even before the war."

"Speaking of which, did you confiscate her syringes?"

"God damn it!"Connie shouted, face palming herself for her lack of action. "No I sure didn't."

"I'll handle it when I see her next." Soren assured. "I'm going to get some more information from the GSA." He began walking away, but he stopped and said "Connie? Thanks for bringing her home. It's been too long since I've been this happy. We're one step closer to completing our mission...and I might finally have the chance to confess my feelings to Amethyst."

Then he left the house and took flight.

The GSA were the people looking for the Gems, the Gem Searching Agency. Word had got out that Connie and Soren had brought back Amethyst, and the people of Beach City, Keith the GSA or not, were overjoyed to see one of their heroes returned. They were planning on throwing a city-wide celebration in Amethyst's honor, but Connie advised that there would only be a celebration when all the Gems were returned, including Steven. Then the GSA went right back to work in finding each of the gems' location and any other information they could scrounge up.

Connie went upstairs into Steven's old room and plopped down on the bed, then took out her communicator and looked to see what the searchers were talking about. Some of them were discussing where each gem might be by analyzing their behaviors and interests, some were saying they heard rumors about where the Gems were. There was nothing concrete yet, so Connie turned it off and covered up in the blankets to go to sleep. She then noticed Steven's gem sitting minute bed next to her. Feeling lonely, she took the gem and began to cuddle with it, imagining that the former owner of the gemstone were actually lying in bed with her now, holding her close and whispering sweet things in her ear.

The last thing Connie thought before she drifted off into the land of slumber, was that there might, MIGHT, be a slim chance of having her family back for the first time in years.

* * *

 **There's that update you all so desperately wanted. Be sure to fav, follow and review, criticism is always appreciated. PM me for thoughts or ideas, and I'll see you guys in the next one.**

 **And one last thing. Pretty soon some time before I finished this story, I plan on making another SU story, Most likely Called Rebecca's Universe, so keep an eye out for updates here and that story as well.**

 **Not every gem will try fighting Connie. That's just what I'd imagine Amethyst would do.**


	5. Hamburger Hill

**Day 8 of Search**

 **September 30, 2031, 4:30pm**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

 **The Beach House**

Ever since Connie brought Amethyst home, she immediately went back to work on locating the other gems, not taking any chance to take a break. She had succeeded in bringing home one of the Gems, so she concluded that if she continued working nonstop on finding everyone else the Crystal Gems would be back together in no time.

Connie was at home, pouring over maps of the Country and each of the individual states and having been surrounded by several gem communicators to increase her amount of information generated at once. She had been taking notes on journals and the maps themselves, noting down every tidbit of info on the Gems, from where they might have gone right down to their hobbies in hopes of pinpointing their absolute, or at the very least, relative location. The communicators were constantly beeping, signifying a new message had been really received by a member of the GSA. Every message that came through, Connie made sure to save the message and make a handwritten copy of the message, just in case something happened to the communicators.

Connie had lots of information on the gems, but nothing more on their locations than rumors and speculation. She began to grow frustrated because she had nothing concrete. It seemed that despite all the Intel she did have, she really had nothing. She got so stressed to a point where she actually threw a chair at the temple door in frustration, reducing the wooden chair to a pile of discarded splinters on the floor.

Connie slumped over the table in defeat, tired and hungry from what little sleep and food she's gotten. If she kept up this process of work, lacking food and energy, pretty soon she'd die of exhaustion. Then she would have broken her promise made to Steven all those years ago

Again.

She wouldn't accept defeat just yet. As she straightened up and began to return working, she heard the temple door open and watched Amethyst walk out.

"Hey Connie, what'cha doing?" The purple gem asked.

"Well while you've been in your room for three days I've been working hard on looking for the rest of our- my family." Connie said with a bit of anger in her voice. "What have you been doing?"

"Nothing much." Replied Amethyst, ignoring Connie's tone. "Just trying to get reacquainted with my home."

As she spoke Amethyst reached into the front pocket on her hoodie and pulled out one of her syringes and lifted her sleeve up in preparation to inject herself.

"Oh no you don't." Connie said as she dashed over and snagged the syringe from Amethyst's grip.

"Give it back!" Amethyst demanded, reaching for the drugs to get her fix for the day.

"No way, you don't need this. You're fine living without a toxic addictions this." Connie said in response, evading Amethyst's reaching hands.

"Please, I need it Connie, I need it real bad!" She pleaded, tears bursting out her eyes.

""Look at how pathetic you are, relying on getting high to get through life." Connie shot.

"I'll tell you where one of the Gems are!"

Connie stopped dead in her tracks, but held the syringe firmly in her grasp.

"Where is she?" She asked.

"Not until you hand it over." Amethyst said, starting to calm down and wipe away her tears.

"Tell me where she is and who she is, now!" Connie ordered.

"Promise to give it back if I tell you?" Amethyst asked.

"Only if you tell me what I want to know."

Amethyst hesitated for a minute, then said, "I didn't want to tell you because I know it's not a place you'd want to be at. Last time you were there, it didn't go so well..."

"Just tell me." Connie said impatiently.

Amethyst took a deep breath.

"Amityville."

Connie blinked, then tossed the syringe to the Gem.. "What's wrong with Amityville? I've always wanted to go to New York, I don't see the problem."

"Not Amityville, New York." Amethyst continued, catching the syringe midair. "Fort Mathers, Amityville in Michigan. That's what everyone who lived there called it before the war. You know it by a different name."

Connie gasped, as the flashback came. "Hamburger Hill..."

 **Beginning of flashback**

 **September 13, 2020**

 **Detroit, Michigan**

Connie was 17 when the battle of Hamburger Hill began. As the war transitioned into it's third year, Connie had been sent to Detroit to an allied human base called Fort Mathers to inspect the base. The majority of the Midwest had been secured in allied hands by the end of the first year of conflict, but there was a great amount of Homeworld activity on the eastern side of Michigan and northwestern part of Ohio. Fort Mathers had been close to the enemy actually, but allied gems and humans alike believed that Yellow Diamond's forces wouldn't plan on staging an attack on the base anytime soon, so the forces stationed at the base believed they were safe. Despite the level of safety in that region, Connie was promoted to Commander and sent to make sure the defenses there would be sufficient in the event the enemy did try to take the base, and to see if any more manpower or weapons were needed by the men. While Connie was there she was assured everything was fine and that any small attacks would be no match for the fort.

Then one day Homeworld did attack, but not on a small scale level like people planned on. It was a full out frontal attack from very heavy enemy forces. Connie had been trapped with her men and forced to defend the base.

The problem was, Fort Mathers had enough manpower and firepower to sustain a small attack. The attack was much larger than anticipated, numbering allied soldiers 500 against the Homeworld army numbering a staggering 2,500 enemies.

The initial attack was the worse. More than half of the human soldiers were killed in the first wave. Then the first attack was followed by many other strong attacks designed to dwindle the human forces low enough for one final push in order to take the base.

Yet Connie survived the bloodbath, as she commanded her troops and fought back long enough for a garrison of 3,000 soldiers to rescue the few survivors. When the garrison arrived the last push of YD's forces had just ended. As the garrison session cued for survivors, they found that those left remaining were in various states of insanity or PTSD, including Connie.

That was Connie's worst battle. Sure, previous battles had messed up her young mind, but that was the bloodiest battle in all of human history. All but a small group of 38 soldiers survived, but all were wounded badly by multiple hostile shots. Connie had been shot 4 times in her torso, but her mental state was far worse. She had watched hundreds of men gunned down right in front of her, so many died that she was covered in blood that was mostly the blood of those who had fallen. That was the worst day of Connie's life. She still had nightmares to this day that were from that terrible battle. One distinct thing she remembered was that the people of Detroit had called the city Amityville because of the murder rates. There was even a popular song about Detroit called "Amityville" by Eminem that the whole city knew. There was a line in the song that stuck out to people after the battle.

"This ain't Detroit, this is motherfucking Hamburger Hill!"

So that's what people called Detroit from then on. Either Amityville...

Or Hamburger Hill.

 **End of Flashback.**

Connie was unable to move as the horrible memories flowed in from that horrendous day. She froze up, began to shake violently like she was having a seizure. She started hyperventilating and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Amethyst was about to intervene, but then suddenly Connie just stopped. She regained her posture and she was fine now, much to Amethyst's amazement.

"Are you okay, what was that?" She asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Focus on ending that addiction of yours. Fast." Connie spat.

"Surprised by Connie's sudden behavior change, Amethyst said, "Oh just leave me be, you wouldn't understand why I do what I do."

Amethyst injected the dark substance into her vein, discarded the empty syringe, then walked back towards the temple door.

"Wait, you never told me which gem it was!" Said Connie.

Right before the temple door closed, Amethyst gave her an answer.

"I guess you'll just have to go and see."

Connie growled in anger, feeling like she was about to explode. Then she took a deep breath, counted to 20, stroked her gem necklace and regained her composure.

"Okay, Amityville. The site of a historical battle for Earth. I was there. I survived. I was shot. I was shot but I survived. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." She recited to herself.

She grabbed one of the communicators and send Soren a message saying where she was going to pick up a gem. He said he'd meet her there.

Connie took a deep breath. "I'm coming for you, Amityville. And I'm bringing my sword."

 **October 3, 2031, 12:30pm**

 **Detroit, "Amityville" Michigan**

 **Hamburger Hill Memorial Museam**

When Connie first arrived at Fort Mathers she was surprised to find out that the old military base had been turned into a museum.

It brought her something close to happiness knowing that people were learning the horrors of Intergalactic War, and war in general. She hoped that there would be a time of peace longer than the peaceful years following the end of the Great War. If mankind did that, maybe the world would be a better, safer place.

But that was just wishful thinking.

Connie had met up with Soren outside the entrance the the museum like he had promised.

"Ready?" He asked her.

"Yes I'm ready." Connie said, but as Soren started going in she couldn't summon the courage to go inside.

"Connie, look at me." Said Soren.

Connie looked right into his eyes.

"You're safe. The War is over, we won. Nothing's going to happen to you, I wouldn't let it. I promise." He assured.

Connie nodded before taking a shaky breath and following Soren inside.

As the duo walked through the museum in search of the Gem, Connie was surprised to see the mixed crowd of both gems and humans observing the exhibits and artifacts. Even the staff were a mix of humans and gems.

They walked near a woman dressed in a soldier's uniform, telling a group of tourists the tale of Hamburger Hill.

"There we were, outnumbered and outgunned by the hostile gem forces." She said. "It was 400 to 2,000, and we had no hope..."

"Actually." Connie butt in. "It was our 500 against their 2,500, and we had some hope. Hope wasn't the problem, we were just caught off guard with our flies down. That's how it went down."

"Sorry lady, the information I have says I'm right. So go take your false information self and walk away." The fake soldier snapped.

Connie stopped. Then slowly turned around to take the tour guide.

"Were you there?" Asked Connie.

"Lady I'm just doing my job and the internet doesn't like about-"

"Were. You. There?" Connie repeated.

The lady went to say something, but gave up and said, "No."

"Huh. Makes sense. I'd remember seeing a face like yours at that battle."

The tour guide shot Connie a sneer. "What does that mean?"

"Well." Connie started. "I had been promoted to Commander and was sent to Fort Mathers when the battle began. I watch just about every man stationed there die fighting for their planet. I myself was injured severely and had to be put in a medical insisted coma in order to recover. I remember the screams. I remember being covered head to toe in blood that wasn't even my own. I even remember the taste of the blood in my mouth. To this day I still have nightmares about that day. But I did it so people like you could have a job at a historical museum."

The woman was flabbergasted.

"If you need better convincing, look at this." Connie pulled out something from her pocket and showed it to the group.

"This is the Purple Heart I was given after my recovery."

The group eyed the medal with fascination. Then she put it back in her pocket.

"How old are you?" Connie asked.

"21." The guide answered.

"I was 18 when the war ended. I was fucking 14 when it began, and 17 at the Battle of Hamburger Hill. In fact I'm pretty famous. You might know me. My name is Connie Maheswaren, and if you try to correct me on any battle of the war again, or any vet for that matter, I have no problem wiping your uneducated dumbass off the face of _my_ planet. Do I make myself clear?"

The lady gulped. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now tell the story right, or leave this place before I kick your ass."

And just like that, Connie and Soren walked away, leaving the crowd of tourists and the tour guide in shock of what just transpired.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Soren said when they stopped at the bar built inside the large museum.

"Don't sweat it Soren. I'm just teaching the people of the world whoa it means to be human." Connie said with a smile.

While they ordered their drinks, somebody sat next to Connie and Soren. Connie noticed that the person was a gem, but didn't think much of it because evidently this part of the country accepted gems as individuals, and they were all over the city and the museum.

"Give me the hardest drinks you've got and leave them in the bottles." The gem said.

This time Connie paid more attention to the Gem because of her voice. She knew she heard it from somewhere but the Gem looked like no one she knew. She was a green gem with lime colored hair dropping down to chest length distance. She wore a gem uniform that was now all torn and tattered covered up by a green jacket with emojis all over the front of it. No one Connie's ever met.

The bartender gave the Gem a few bottles of hard liquor and she quickly opened one bottle and wasted no time chugging down the drink.

 _How do I know her?_ Thought Connie.

While the Gem was drinking she looked over and Connie, then looked away. Then she did a double take and looked at her again, showing that she recognized Connie.

The gem stopped drinking and put the bottle down, squinting at Connie.

"Connie?"

"Yes, who are you?" Asked Connie.

The gem looked at her funny, then let out a laugh.

"It's me!" She said.

Connie was lost.

"Fine, I'll give you a hint. I love calling people Clods."

Connie gasped. "Peridot?"

* * *

 **Hope you all liked the chapter! Be sure to fav, follow and review, and PM me for ideas and thoughts, tell me how I'm doing! Ok, Lazuli out!**


	6. Peridot

**Hey Everybody, welcome to another chapter of Seperate Ways. Enjoy the chapter, and if you wan to see the tone, listen to "Swimming Pools", the extended version by Kendrick Lamar when you get to the bar part and listen to it for the rest of the chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

Connie could not believe her eyes as she stared at her old friend. Peridot looked absolutely nothing like what she used to. Her hair wasn't in it's triangular shape, she didn't wear her visor anymore, and her clothes were much more different than before. There was no way in a million years Connie would have recognized her.

"What are you staring at?" Asked Peridot. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Because you look so different from way back when!" Replied Connie in astonishment. "Look at you now!"

"Yeah well, I thought it was time for a change of attire a few Earth years ago. Do you approve of my new appearance?"

"You look great." Said Connie with a smile.

"I agree, you have great taste." Soren added.

When Peridot noticed Soren was also present, Peridot immediately stood up from the bar stool and gave him a military salute.

"Thank you, General Soren." She said in a respectful tone.

Soren gave her a confused look, then realized what she was doing and let out a kindhearted laugh.

"Peridot, the war's over. You don't have to treat me like a figure of authority anymore."

"Are you sure? It's no trouble General Soren, I can still do it if you want." Peridot insisted.

"I'm positive, Peridot. And just call me Soren."

"Okay. Soren." She said, letting out one of her signature giggles of giddiness.

"So what brings you here to Fort Mathers?" Asked Connie.

"Oh. Um well, I was just in the neighboring hood and I decided to drop by and…"

Connie and Soren stared at her, clearly not buying her story.

"I wanted to be back in a familiar environment."

"What do you mean like that?" Asked Soren.

"I...missed being in the war."

"I can understand that to an extent, but any particular reason why?" Connie asked.

Peridot took a long swig from one of her bottles before answering.

"When I was on Homeworld I was always sent on the simpler missions, being an Era II peridot. I never really felt like anything I did was important, or mattered. Then I came to Earth and met Steven."

She didn't say anymore, so Connie said, "Go on."

Peridot kind of looked down at the table, looking like she was nervous. Then to Connie's surprise Soren reached over and took Peridot's hand.

"Come on, Wasabi. You can tell us."

Peridot looked at Soren's hand holding hers and a small smile appeared on her face. Then she took a deep breath and continued.

"After I started hanging out with Steven more often, I felt like someone actually appreciated everything I did. That boy...he made me feel like just existing was my most important task. He made me feel like I was more than a low level peridot. He made me understand love, and it changed everything I knew about myself. At first when he tried being my friend I let my mission overrule my emotions it was illogical for my feelings to sway my loyalty to Yellow Diamond. It was the logical thing to do. I didn't understand love then, but after I did understand it changed me. All my life I was ordered to do the most logical thing to do. Logic was all I ever knew, so all this love and friendship was confusing to me. But when I finally understood I accepted it with open arms."

"Then came the war." Peridot continued. "I had many reasons to fight, which means I had many important things to do, on the battlefield and at home. That was the first time that I had thousands of people relying on me and supporting me, multiplying the same feelings that Steven gave me tenfold. So I had to some here. I wanted to experience those feelings again."

The trio sat in silence after having Peridot get all that off her chest. Soren felt sad that he wasn't there for his Wasabi and Connie took Peridot's words to heart, as she remembered feeling small and insignificant until she met Steven. They were the same once.

After some time Peridot returned to drinking from her bottle until it was empty and she was about to move on to the next bottle when Connie broke the silence.

"Come home with us."

Peridot gave her a look of shock and spit liquor out of her mouth. "What!?"

"Connie and I have started bringing The Original Crystal Gems back home. We got a message and we decided to find everyone." Soren explained.

"What did the message say?" Peridot asked. "And who sent it?"

"It was from Steven." Said Connie. "It said come find me."

"That's amazing! Is he in Delmarva already?"

"No, we're bringing his family back first and then getting him last. I don't think he'd like to come home to an empty house." Connie said.

"That seems logical. How many gems have you brought back so far?"

"You're going to be the second one we've found so far. We have an entire city of people looking for the gems. The only one we've brought back so far is Amethyst." Said Soren.

"Ah, Amethyst. She told you where I usually hang out. We haven't talked in almost a decade, but she visited me her once."

"Didn't you have issues with her?" Asked Connie.

"Not at all. The only problem we've ever had involved Soren, but after that episode ended Amethyst understood what happened and we were friends again." Peridot explained. "How is she doing?"

"Well, you should see for yourself. Come home with us." Connie requested.

Peridot mulled it over for a few minutes, drank from her bottle, mulled it over even more. Connie was losing patience, and she was a bit tired of sitting there. Before Peridot could answer there was an announcement from a stage at the other side of the bar.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you a reenactment of The Battle of Fort Mathers!" A tour guide announced.

The guide left the stage and out came a crowd of people onstage. Some were dressed as human soldiers and there were gems dressed in Homeworld uniforms. Both sides were either armed with replica firearms or various close combat weapons like swords and whatever each gems' weapon was. Then after a few introductions the battle began. Gems and humans were firing back at each other with blanks or going head on with their melee weapons. Gems were poofing into their gems for show while the humans were falling to their fake deaths. There were loud gunshots and explosions coming from loud speakers and sword clashing sounds were also present.

Soren was shouting out encouraging comments at the humans like "Don't let up!" or "Rip them to shards!"

Peridot was grinning like a maniac and chugging down her liquor, enjoying the hyper-realistic battle reenactment effects.

Connie was a far different story.

She was shaking. She was acting jittery and was looking around the bar in horror, looking for explosions and laserfire that didn't exist.

Soon Connie began acting afriad and in danger. She dove to the ground under a table for cover and unsheathed her sword, gaining strange looks from the crowd watching the reenactment.

"Connie what are you doing?" Soren asked. Peridot didn't notice and continued watching the pretend carnage unfold.

"They're about to breach the walls! Medic, medic! Wake up, Kofi! Kofi wake up, open your eyes! No god no, please don't be dead. You have a family to go back to!"

Then Connie spotted the gems killing her men on stage.

"GET THE HELL OFF MY PLANET!" She screamed and charged with her sword.

The nearest gem realized what was happening and blocked Connie's attack with her own sword.

"Is that you, Commander Maheswaren?" The gem asked.

"Die!" Connie responded, unleashing a fury of attacks on the gem. The gem easily evaded all her attacks in time for Soren to run over and stop Connie's rampage.

"Stop it Connie! It's fake, no one's getting hurt!" He said in a panic. "Look around you!"

"Let me go Honeworld scum!" She screamed back and pushed him away.

Peridot had finally saw the commotion and came over bottle in hand to intervene.

"Her down Soren!" She instructed.

Soren pushed Connie to the ground and held her to the floor.

Before Peridot did anything she finished the last half of her hard liquor and held the empty bottle in her hand. Then to Soren's shock she took he bottle by the neck and smashed it into Connie's forehead, promptly shattering the bottle and rendering the aggressive Connie unconscious.

"Holy shit, Peridot." Soren said, impressed. "You're one tough cookie."

"No, Commander Soren." Peridot said. "I'm one tough Peridot. Help me pick her up."

When Connie awoke she found that she was in some sort of motel room on a bed, wrapped in a nice blanket. She saw Soren messing around with his communicator on the other motel bed. She had a splitting headache as well.

"What happened?" She asked.

"There was a very graphic reenactment at Fort Mathers." He said. "It was too much for you and you had one of your episodes."

"Did I hurt anyone?" She asked with a concerned tone.

"No. Peridot stopped you before you killed one of the gems onstage."

"How'd she stop me?"

Soren smiled. "She knocked the living shit out of you with an empty beer bottle."

"That explains the headache. Where is she now?" Connie asked.

"Stil at the bar."

"I'm going to go find her."Connie said, getting up from the bed and talking towards the door. Before she left she stopped and turned to Soren.

"Why did you call her Wasabi?"

Soren stopped using the old gem tech and looked up.

"Why do you care?"

"It seems like something happened between you two. I just want to know why because it may help me while I search for the other gems." Connie explained.

"A few months before the war started after Steven brought me back from my corruption, she and I became close friends because we were both from Homeworld. We were always good friends, but one night she called me to her home, that barn she lived in. It was there when she said something to me."

Soren stuck his tongue out exposing his gem and a video showed up of Soren and Peridot.

"Whatsup Peridot?" The younger Soren asked Peridot.

"Commander Soren, there's something I've been wanting to tell you." Said Peridot.

She got real close to him before continuing.

"During my time with Steven and the Crystal Gems, I've been learning about a feeling they call love. It's a weird feeling, as it isn't found anywhere on Homeworld. Steven has taught me there's two kinds of love. He feels love for me like family, and he said he loves Connie in the romantic kind of way."

Connie's heart fluttered when Peridot said Steven loved her, but she kept listening.

"Commander Soren, before I get to what I'm trying to say, can you tell me if we're close enough friends for me to speak my mind freely?"

"Of course you can Peridot. We're close enough. I'm here for you." Soren assured.

Peridot stepped away from Soren and sat down on her bed. Soren followed suit on the bed as well. Then to younger Soren's surprise Peeisot took his hand.

"I understand you have feelings for Amethyst. I've known for some time now." She said. "But I still want to tell you." She took a deep breath.

"I'm in love with you Commander Soren."

Soren stared at her in surprise of her sudden confession. Before he could say anything Peridot continued.

"I know you don't love me like that, and I know you will someday pursue a romantic relationship with Amethyst, but I felt like you should know. I've loved you since the day I met you and I will always love you. I don't ask to be anything more than friends, but please just remember that."

"Wow Peridot,I don't know what to say." Soren said nervously.

"You don't have to say anything." She said. "Just let me do this. Just this once."

Then Peridot kissed him. And he let her.

The video ended and Soren closed his mouth.

"I will never forget that day. We have never talked about that day again and she acted like it never happened. But that was my greatest battle. I hated myself for not loving her back, it tore at me like a sword and it still does to this day."

"Wow Soren." Was all Connie could say.

"Go find her. Make sure she's okay and the. Bring her home."

Then Connie opened the door and left, leaving a broken Soren alone with his thoughts and remorse.

Connie went back to the bar at Fort Mathers and found Peridot drinking more liquor and listening to in her earbuds from her tablet Steven gave her.

Connie sat next to her and took out her earbuds. "Why are you drinking again?"

"Because I like it." A drunken Peridot answered.

"Soren told me what happened." Connie said.

"So? He never did love me, why should I care?"

"Because he's been beating himself up for loving Amethyst and not you for years."

"You want another bottle to your head!?" Peridot snapped.

"Come home and I promise you can have all the liquor you want."

"I can get it here."

"Do you want to see Steven?" Connie asked.

"Fine. You win. Still,as the bartender always says to me, fuck off. I'll come home."

 **A few days later**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

The trio finally got home from the horrors of Hamburger Hill. The first thing Peridot did was frantically pound on the temple door. After a few minutes of loud pounding Amethyst finally came out.

"Fine Connie, I'll get rid of the dr-" She stopped mid sentence when she saw Peridot standing in front of her.

"P-Peridot?"

"Hello Amethyst." Said Peridot happily.

Amethyst didn't say anything at first, she just stared. Connie was getting nervous that there might be another fight, but instead of summoning her whip Amethyst tackled Peridot in a super tight bear hug.

"I missed you, Peridactle!" She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Good to see you too, old friend." Peridot replied, hugging her back.

The two old friends got up from their embrace.

"Come on, we have a motor catching up to do!" Said Amethyst, and she led Peridot into her room.

"That's two down, five to go." Connie said in relief.

"Don't be so happy, not everyone will be as easy to bring home." Soren stated.

"I'm happy because I know that it's possible that I'm getting my whole family back together." Said Connie.

Soren just walked away and flew out of the house.

Dismissing his attitude,Connie went upstairs and plopped down on her bed, about to earn some well deserved rest. She curled up next to Steven's gem when she noticed something. When she inspected it further she gasped when she saw what it was.

It was an envelope. One that hadn't been there before.

That was already strange, but what was even more shocking was who it was addressed to.

 _Mom._

 **What does the letter say? Find out later in the story. And to whoever is wondering where I got inspired to make Connie have PTSD in the bar, watch the scene in Glory when Colonel Robert Shaw has an attack. It makes sense to happen to a soldier.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, be sure to review, follow and favorite for more content. Take care guys, Lazuli out!**


	7. Fight Club

**Na na na na na na na na na new chapter! Here you guys go. Also I've been seeing some questions in the reviews, and I PMed you guys about your questions, but soon all will be revealed. Also today's the one month anniversary of this story's first chapter. Neato. Thanks for sticking around so long, it really means something to me. Ok enough of my gratitude, let's go.**

* * *

 **Day ? Of Search**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

 **The Beach House**

 **August 6, 2031, 8:00am**

"That's why the city is filled with a bunch of fucking idiots still,

That's why the first motherfucker popping some shit he gets killed,

That's why we don't call it Detroit we call it Amityville,

You could get capped after just having a cavity fill!

That's why we're crowned the murder capital still,

This ain't Detroit, this is motherfucking Hamburger Hill!

We don't do drive-bys we park in front of houses and shoot,

And when the police come we fucking shoot it out with them too!"

Amethyst was in the living room blaring music from Peridot's tablet via a set of huge speakers Amethyst had stored in her room at some point. Peridot was liking the song, but was confused as to why the rapper had to swear so much and why he called the city he lived in by the name of a different city hundreds of miles away. The whole house shook from the speaker's powerful bass, and Connie had had enough.

"Amethyst please turn down that song, you know how it makes me feel." Connie yelled over the loudness.

"No way, this song is awesome!" Amethyst yelled back, bobbing her head to the music. Peridot just stood next to her and tried bobbing her head as well, but with it being her first time trying looked like she was trying to shake a fly out of her ear.

Angered by Amethyst's uncooperative response, Connie walked over to the speakers and unplugged them from the tablet, then promptly took them away and put them on a high shelf.

"Aww, come on Connie!" Amethyst cried in protest.

"Yes, please allow us to continue listening to those "dope lyrics"." Peridot said in an awkward voice.

"Don't talk like her, Peridot." Said Connie. "You're smarter than her."

"Party pooper!" Amethyst called her. "Come on Peridot, let's go."

"Oh no you don't!" Connie ran over to the temple door blocking the two gems from entering. "You're going to go help The GSA locate the other gems."

"No way, I'm not gonna find any of them. They're just going to start more fights." Said Amethyst.

"I agree with Amethyst." Added Peridot, sipping from a bottle of Jack Daniels. "We all went our separate ways because of our differences. Besides who needs them? All we need are Amethyst, you, Commander Soren, myself and Steven. We can live a happier and less stressfui life without them."

"Now do you really think that Steven would want to come home to most of his family gone? He doesn't even know we split up, he'll be expecting all of us. If he found out about everything that happened he would leave and not come back this time. Then we'd lose our Steven forever." Connie explained.

That stopped Amethyst and Peridot. Amethyst didn't try to get pass Connie and Peridot stopped drinking from her bottle.

"Okay, we'll help." Amethyst gave in.

"Of course. I want to see Steven again and...part of me wants to see everyone else home as well." Peridot said as well.

"Good." Connie said with relief. "Go talk to people in town. Try looking for Buck or Kiki, they said they would help find the Gems. Just tell them that Connie went you and they'll know how to help you."

"Well we'll see you later I guess." Said Amethyst as her and Peridot walked away and left the beach house.

Connie left out a sigh of relief. She finally had some peace and quiet while she worked on looking for the Gems. As she was about to start working again she stopped herself. She had been working so hard to bring everyone home, and she had already brought home two of the Gems. She decided that she deserved to take a break for a day. Or a week. Or maybe even a month.

She left the table of notes and communicators and went to lie down for a bit. When she plopped down on her bed she looked at the letter left by Steven's gem that was moved to the bookshelf.

That letter, that could only have been left by Steven. He must have snuck in one of the days Soren and Connie were away. Now that actually meant a few different things, and not all of them good.

It meant that Steven had been home at least for a few minutes. Good.

It meant that Steven knew that his family had been split up for quite some time. Bad.

He knew that Connie had broken the promise she had made to him. Very bad.

And the fact that it was addressed to his mother meant that...

No. That was one possibility that Connie would refuse to consider.

Connie could feel her eyes begin to close, but right before she could drift off to sleep she could hear the screen door open. Expecting either Peridot or Amethyst or both, she ignored it. Then suddenly a hand shook her side and she turned to see who it was.

"You need to train." Soren said.

"Train for what?" Connie asked.

"I've been spending time with Amethyst until Peridot returned, and she told me she regrets fighting you. I told her that it wasn't her fault, it was just that you hadn't been trained in anything more than swordsmanship. You need to improve your hand to hand combat, and maybe touch up on some of your sword skills before looking for the rest of the Gems."

"Soren, I've been searching for everyone nonstop for nearly a month now." Connie complained, rolling over on the bed. "If you give me one reason why I need to do all that, I'll get up right now and start training."

"Amethyst almost killed you because she didn't recognize you." Soren explained. "You need to train more and bulk up in case another one of the Gems try to fight you. I doubt every one of them will, but we never know. We need you Connie, now more than ever. And so does Steven."

Connie understood his words and actually agreed with him. Ever since that night in the motel he had been acting distant and almost hostile towards Connie, but now here he was giving her critical advice that would help her in the long run.

"Alright fine, I'll get up and train." Connie caved, attempting to get up but Soren prevented her from sitting up.

"I'll let you rest for now. You've earned it." Soren said before walking away.

Pretty soon after that Connie did finally manage to fall asleep, fearing that she'd have another nightmare. Instead she had one was was kinda...trippy to say the least.

She found herself in some sort of pink field that went on for miles it seemed. Confused, Connie began walking through the field looking for something, but unclear of what.

 _This place is weird, but I feel like I know this place,_ she thought to herself.

As she was walking she noticed that she couldn't breathe. Soon she was gasping for air and wondering what was happening, but suddenly a small pink bubble formed over her head allowing her to breathe again. Then she noticed a small hill with a Rose petal tree in the distance.

Connie began wondering what was happening, but eventually she made it on top of the hill. Right next to the tree was a strange pedestal erected from the ground. On the pedestal were eight gems: One was purple, green, red, blue, pink, blue, orange, and one strange black gem that seemed...broken. Then above the Gems was a picture of the Aerosmith symbol with words etched below it.

 **DREAM UNTIL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.**

 **DREAM ON.**

Connie had no idea what meaning the words meant other than an old Aerosmith song she like, but before she could do anything she felt a presence behind her. She turned around and was shocked to see who stood before her.

"You can bring them all together, Connie. I know you can." He said.

"How are you here? We saw you die." Connie asked in confusion.

"Anything's possible when you believe in Steven. I always did, in life and in death. So believe in him. For me."

"Then I will. I promise you." Connie promised the middle-aged man.

"Thank you Connie. Thank you." He held out his hand for a high five.

"Human beings?" Greg Universe said.

Connie accepted the high five. "Human beings."

"Now wake up, it's time to train."

Connie woke up at around 1:00pm. When she awoke she felt refreshed and relieved for her apparent conversation with Steven's deceased father. She went over to Soren who was using a communicator in the living room.

"Tell me where to start." Connie said firmly.

"Well, I know a place that would do you well. But it depends on how bad you want to find the others." Soren said in a dismissive tone.

"I'll do whatever it takes, just please tell me where to go." She pleaded.

"Fine, but it's out of town. In Louisville, Kentucky to be exact."

"Fine, what's the place.?" She asked further.

Soren looked up to her from the screen.

"I can't talk about it. That's the first and second rule."

"Fuck you. Just tell me."

"Okay." He said. "It's a place called Fight Club."

 **A few days later**

 **Louisville, Kentucky**

 **12:00pm**

Connie stood outside the gym fighting school called Fight Club. This was the place Soren had said she needed to train at. Thinking what could go wrong she stepped inside the building and found that the place lived up to it's name.

There were mats all over the gym where men and woman were both literally fighting each other. Upon closer inspection she realized that there were trainers and students fighting each other just for practice and weren't actually trying to kill each other. It reminded her of those UFC fights Amethyst would sometimes watch years ago.

Connie actually felt the urge to just punch somebody from all the excitement radiating from the fighters. She was staring so intensely she didn't notice the figure walking up to her until she spoke.

"Welcome to Fight Club." The figure said, startling Connie.

The figure was actually a gem, Connie could tell by the color scheme of her fighting outfit and her skin color, but Connie could not see a gem yet. The gem wore a strange orange bandana over her face, a black tank top and red sweat pants. She also wore a dark red head and around her four-year and had tight, long and bushy dark pink hair. She had four arms and four eyes, two Orange and two Red. She was also very buff and had the skin color of the sun setting at night.

"My name is Carnelian Quartz." She said. "This is my gym."

"Um, I was sent here to learn how to learn hand to hand combat by a friend of mine who's a gem." Connie explained.

"Of course. Well, welcome and enjoy learning to fight like Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson." Carnelian said with a smile.

 **(Ok guys please don't hate me, but I have no idea how gyms work, so just imagine a montage of Connie training hard while Eye of the Tiger is playing in the background. Then imagine Connie attending a championship match with Carnelian. I'm so sorry but I can't go that long without focusing on the story.)**

This is it. Connie had been trained for a whole month (or however long it took to read that need explanation above.) It was time for Connie's greatest test, fighting Carnelian her trainer in a battle of brawn. Carnelian stood at the ready, and Connie stood in her fighting stance.

"I know we're friends, but don't hold back. Give me everything you've got." Carnelian instructed.

"I didn't plan on holding back at all." Connie said with a smirk.

Then they charged at each other.

To Connie's surprise she was the one who dealt the first blow, albeit not the strongest on one's. Carnelian had tried to uppercut Connie with two of her four arms, but Connie had evaded the attack and followed up with a nice chop to the back of Carnelian's next. Carnelian let out a pained grunt but was not fazed and retaliated by sweeping Connie's legs and punching her in the chest on the way down.

Connie hit the ground hard and had the air leave her lungs, but she wasn't down for the count. While she was gasping for air Carnelian saw an opportunity and went to strike Connie on the ground with all four arms but Connie quickly recovered and rolled away to avoid the attack before returning to her feet.

"Huh, you're a bit quicker now that you were in training." Carnelian noted. "Have you been holding back from me?"

"Actually yes." Connie confirmed, a smile on her face. "I've been holding back a lot from you, but only because you've been holding back from me!"

Carnelian charged, but this time Connie wasn't fast enough. Carnelian punched her with her higher set of arms and as Connie began to fall Carnelian used her lower set of arms and grabbed Corn feet by the ankles. Then Carnelian started swinging Connie in a circle and then with a lot of force threw Connie across the room. Connie landed with a hard thud but quickly got back up.

"Really, I've holding back from you?" Carnelian questioned. "What have I kept from you?"

"I've spent a lot of time with you. Enough time to know that you were a warrior in the gem war " Connie said.

"In both wars actually, but your point being?" The gem asked, becoming less aggressive and more curious.

"You're a fusion." Connie declared.

"Yes I am a fusion. So what does that mean to you?"

"If I'm right and I know who the sum of your parts are, then I know something that with tick you off!" Connie said before lunging at Carnelian, catching her off guard. Connie ended up punching her in the face where her bandana was and then delivering a swift kick to her torso before pushing her away.

"Dammit!" Carnelian yelled in rage. She was so angry that she lit up like she was about to infuse, but she returned to normal.

"Keep it together, we can't let anyone know." She said quietly to herself.

"Let anyone know you're a fusion? Why, is it because that means the two of you alone are weak and powerless?" Connie remarked, putting her plan in play.

Carnelian's eyes filled with rage and the fusion attacked. She grabbed Connie's arms and headbutted her, then used her lower arms to viciously beat Connie.

"This is for insulting us." A punch to the stomach.

"This is for doubting us." A punch to the ribs.

"And this is for thinking you knew who we really are!"

Carnelian unleashed a barrage of strong and fast punches and jabs to Connie's face, chest and torso. Connie cried out in pain from each strike, every one of them stronger than the last.

Carnelian wasn't in control. She was going ballistic. All the pain from years of torment and inner demons, of loneliness and despair, all those emotions rushing out in one instant of brutality.

Then before Connie passed out from the pain she said something.

"Don't you remember me?"

This made Carnelian stop her carnage. "You? Why would I remember you?"

"You don't recognize me at all? Neither of you do?"

It was then Connie looked at one of Carnelian's hands. There was a red gem embedded in one.

A Ruby.

"Ruby." Connie whispered.

Both of Carnelian's red eyes lit up with confusion.

"Who in the Hell are you?" Carnelian asked in a mixed tone of rage and wonder.

Connie took that distraction to headbutt Carnelian, forcing her to drop Connie. As Carnelian backed up a bit in a stunned daze Connie followed up the headbutt with two punches to the face, a sweeping of the fusion's legs and slammed Carnelian's head into the ground. Then Carnelian tried to get up but was finished off by one powerful kick to the face delivered by Connie. The fusion layed there defeated and dazed from the showdown. Connie threw her hand up in victory over her opponent. As she looked around she noticed all the other mentors and students stopped their training to watch the two combatants duke it out with each other. They all stood there in awe at the victor.

"No one's ever won against Grandmaster Quartz." One of the students said.

"Well I'll be damned." Said Carnelian, rising from the mat. "It appears that you won."

"It was a good match though." Connie said, being a good sport.

"I promised myself that I would tell you something if you were to defeat me, but only because I do remember you, Connie Maheswaren. We did fight alongside you in the war, but not as Carnelian Quartz. No, you know us by different names. Follow me into my private office."

Connie followed Carnelian into her office and shut the door behind them.

"Have a seat." Carnelian instructed, and Connie did so.

"You didn't come here just to find us, but you were sent here by a friend. Who was it?" Asked Carnelian.

"It was Commander Soren." Connie answered.

"Makes sense, he said he'd sent someone to bring us home." Carnelian sighed.

"But who are you? I know one of you is Ruby, but who's the other one?" Connie questioned.

"I guess I'll have to show you." Carnelian concluded.

Then the powerful fusion unfused for the first time in years, and Connie let out a gasp of shock.

She was right about one of the Gems being Ruby, that was an obvious guess by the gem on Carnelian's hand. But there was no other visible gem.

Wait. She wore a bandana that covered her face.

This is why.

Because the two gems that stood before Connie were a pair that she never thought would have fused together because of their differences and history against each other. Yet here they stood.

Connie just couldn't believe it. Soren must have known, why else would he specifically send her here.

Carnelian Quartz was the fusion of Ruby and Jasper.

* * *

 **It only made sense to have Jasper and Ruby be together in a gym. They both have anger management issues, are very aggressive and are always ready for a fight. Although they normally wouldn't be a stable fusion like Carnelian seems to be, but I'll address that in the next chapter, don't worry. Hope you guys liked the chapter, be sure to follow, fav and review. Special thanks to Dante Watterson for letting me use his OC Soren Spessartine in my story.**

 **Also, Let me know how I'm doing and give me ideas via PMing me or using the contact info on my profile. Even though I'm pretty satisfied with how that story's going, it hard trying to improvise a whole chapter. All I do is come up with this stuff all one the spot, it can be difficult.**

 **Take care guys, Lazuli out!**


	8. Ruby and Jasper

**Hey everyone, New chapter! Also don't forget that black gem in Connie's dream. It was the only black gem and there's a reason that specific gem is black and "broken". Go back to the last chapter if you need a refresher. And pay attention to the search days from now on, because they're always going to be question marks. That's also significant. That's all, enjoy!**

Connie felt a sudden rush of emotions when she saw Carnelian Quartz unfuse into Ruby and Jasper. And none of them were positive. In fact the closest emotion to anything remotely positive was surprise, but that's it. All the other emotions were anger, disbelief, hatred and confusion.

But mostly anger.

"We know what you're thinking." Jasper said. "Why would we fuse together despite our history and different views on life. But yeah, this is what we did."

"Before we talk about anything else, tell us how you feel about this." Ruby added.

"You want me to be honest? You might not like it." Connie said.

They both nodded.

"Okay. I can't believe you would do this!" Connie screamed.

The gems frowned, given a response they did not expect.

"What's wrong with us fusing?" Asked a perplexed Jasper.

"Where do I begin! You both have had so many differences and conflicts with one another, that alone should be enough evidence of how terrible I think this is."

"We've moved passed them." Said Ruby. "We've accepted each other."

"But it seems like you have a lot more reasons why you dislike us." Said Jasper, a little bit angered by Connie's outburst.

"Okay, let me start with Jasper." Connie began. "You have had no problem forcibly fusing with other gems in the past because of your list for power. You are a very hot headed individual like Ruby, so you'd be a very unsuitable match for fusion. Your quest for power has no limits, which means you'd to anything for power."

"So did you just come here to insult the two of us?" Jasper asked, anger clearly on her face now.

"I'm not finished, let's move on to Ruby." Connie went on. "You have fought each other both verbally and physically, and Ruby...how could you do this to Sapphire?"

"Don't bring her up." Ruby asked quietly, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Please leave her out of this."

"Are you done?" Jasper asked, teeth clenched and fists balled.

"Is there more I should say?" Connie asked.

"In that case, get the fuck out of our gym." Jasper ordered.

"No, I'm done." Connie said, calming down. "I was sent here to train, according to Soren. But I think he sent me to bring you guys home."

"We don't have a home anymore." Ruby sniffed. "Steven was our home."

"Agreed." Jasper added, also returning to a calmer state.

"We got a message from him. He wants us to bring him home. But I wanted to-" Connie started

"He wants to come home!?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Really?" Jasper also questioned.

"Yes, but I wanted to bring back the Crystal Gems before we found him. So far I've brought two of the Gems back. If you guys come home, that would leave only three gems left until we had everyone."

"Who have you brought home?" Asked Ruby.

"That's not important." Said Connie. "I'm bringing home everyone, regardless of your differences or opinions towards one another. I refuse to bring Steven back to a broken home. My question is, are you in?"

"I'm going. Jasper?"

"Fine, but only for Steven." Jasper caved. "But I don't want to see the faces of any of those disrespectful brats, ya hear me? It'll be just me, Ruby and Steven. Got it?"

"Whatever you want." Connie lied. There was no way in Hell she'd comply with Jasper's demands. She was going to bring home everyone and force them to get along.

Or she'd kill them. Plain and simple.

"So when do we leave?" Asked Ruby.

"Right now." Answered Connie.

"That's going to be a problem." Said Jasper.

"Yeah." Ruby agreed. "Were running a gym here, we can't just-"

"You both noticed that I always carry my sword around, like now for instance, right?" Connie interrupted.

"Um, yeah?" Jasper replied.

"Good." Connie said. "Which means you can forgive me for this."

In a flash Connie drew her sword and plunged the blade into Jasper's chest, then pulled out and slashed at Ruby's face, effectively spoofing both of the Gems. She caught the gemstones before they could fall.

"I needed that." Connie said to herself before putting the Gems into her pocket.

Connie left Carnelian's private office and walked towards the exit of Fight Club. One of the trainers asked her where Grandmaster Quartz was.

"She's in my pocket." Connie replied. "So you and all the others should go home for a while."

 **Back at the Beach House...**

"Why didn't you just tell me where Jasper and Ruby where?" Connie asked Soren.

"Because you did need to bulk up a bit. And I knew you'd eventually find out." Soren responded.

"But I spent a month there! A month I could've used to find everyone else and bring them home! Do you have any idea how much time I wasted?"

"A month?" Soren said sarcastically.

"Argh, what is with you!" Connie shouted with anger, gripping her hair.

"That night in the motel is what's with me." Soren replied. "I just bared my soul you you, told you something that kills me all over again everyday, and you had nothing to say. That fucking Burt Connie, you know how antisocial I am. I never had anybody to talk to before, and I don't have anyone now. The first time I actually to talk deep with someone it was evidently just a waste of my time. So yeah Connie, I'm not in the greatest mood right now."

Connie was stunned by Soren's sudden issue. It never seemed like him and her had a problem, so she had no idea he felt like that. Surprisingly that hurt her as well, being oblivious to Soren's problems and feelings. How could she have been so blind?

"I'm sorry Soren. I had no idea-"

"Oh don't pull that I didn't know bullshit on me!" Soren spat at her. "That's everyone's lame excuse. For guys like me it ain't easy to be played for fools, so don't treat me like one."

"Fine." Connie hissed. "Now you've cleared the air, what do you want me to do with Ruby and Jasper?"

"Where are they?" He asked.

Connie responded by taking out their gemstones and rolling the over to Soren's hand. He immediately sprung up from the table in horror and disgust.

"You poofed them? Why?" He questioned.

"They were being...uncooperative." She answered.

"Fine. Just put them in their rooms in the temple."

"Screw that, you do it." Connie said. "I've been bringing back everyone with little to no help from you, so you do it."

Soren did as he was ordered, really not in the mood for a full blown argument. He went over to the temple's entrance and used the power of both gems to enter their rooms. As he did that Connie went upstairs to lay down for a bit.

When she plopped down she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a bottle of pills labeled **Prazosin** and Injested some before laying down. She layed there for several minutes but just couldn't fall asleep. While she tried to fall asleep she thought maybe because it was still daytime, so she turned her thoughts to less stressful things, like what she might do with the family when everyone came home, or what the Gems were up to. Connie randomly daydreamed about obscure things when she heard the wooden stairs creaking. Thinking it was Soren and not wanting to talk to him, she turned her back to the stairs and resumed her daydreaming.

"Go away Soren. I'm still pissed." Connie called out.

But the creaking didn't stop until it reached the foot of the bed. Connie ignored it.

Bad idea. Bad idea, because then Connie heard a whisper that was most certainly not from Soren.

"You don't know what I've been through." A woman softly whispered.

Connie opened her eyes with confusion. Then she turned over to face the speaker.

No one.

Thinking it was just her imagination Connie rolled back over...only to come face to face with a woman who was as pale as a ghost.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!" The woman whispered, grabbing hold of Connie and straddling her. Connie furiously tried to escape the woman's grip, but to no avail.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A GEM!" She screamed at Connie. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BECOME CORRUPTED! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR BUT HAVE AN ETERNAL LIFE!"

"I don't understand!" Connie cried out. "Who are you?"

"YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU'LL NEVER KNOW!" The woman screeched, almost like she was in pain.

As Connie was struggling to get away she gasped. In the center of the woman's head was a black orb that was embedded into her very flesh. Connie immediately recognized it, but she couldn't place her finger on where she's seen it before.

"How do I help you?" Connie asked the woman.

"Save me!" She cried out. "Save me save me SAVE ME SAVE ME SAVE ME!"

Connie closed her eyes and tried to play dead, but the woman started violently shaking her.

"Connie! CONNIE! CONNIE!"

"Connie! Wake up Connie!" A voice said.

Connie sprang up with fear. "Tell me how to save you!"

"Connie calm down, it's me Soren!"

Connie took a minute to get her bearings, but after doing so she found that she had somehow attracted Soren and the Gems, including Jasper and Ruby. They were surrounding her, all staring at her with concerned looks on their faces.

"Wha-what happened?" Connie asked in a daze.

"You went to sleep, and then you started talking to yourself." Soren explained.

"Yeah, and then you started wigging out." Added Amethyst.

"Before anyone says anything else, I need to talk to Connie. Alone." Jasper said, to everyone's surprise.

"Uh, sure Jasper." Soren complied. "Come on guys, let's go."

"Good luck guys." Said Ruby, walking away with the others.

"I need a bottle." Peridot Murmured.

"Where's my syringe pack." Amethyst also muttered.

Then they all went to their rooms in the temple. Soren stepped outside the Beach House.

"Jasper I'm so sorry for looting you and Ruby earlier." Said an ashamed Connie.

"Earlier I was angry when just reformed. Ruby was too, but a lot less. I was going to give you a piece of my mind when you woke up. Until we saw what just happened." Jasper confessed.

"Why did that bother you? I have episodes like that all the time. I have PTSD from the war and...being abandoned by my family." Said Connie.

Jasper shook her head. "Girl I've had PTSD even from the first war. Believe me when I say this, your issues aren't just PTSD."

Connie gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"First elm me ask you this." Jasper said. "Did you recognize this woman you saw?"

"A little bit, but she had this weird black orb on her forehead." Connie explained, recalling the horrific events from a few minutes ago. "I know I've seen that orb before. I just can't remember where I saw it."

"Okay, that's a start. Now, have you been having nightmares involving yourself or those you love?" Jasper delved deeper.

"Ever since the war's end." Connie answered.

"Have you been struggling to remember certain things?"

"Sometimes."

"Have you ever felt like you are the only one who feels like this, or ever felt like you're disconnected from reality?" Jasper continued.

"Yes?" Connie answered, not really sure why Jasper had so many questions. Jasper was known to not be such a conversationalist when it comes to personal stuff. This was completely unlike Jasper.

"Have you ever thought about self-harming?"

"No I never thought about it." Connie answered. Before Jasper could ask anymore questions, Connie rolled up both her sleeves and held out her wrists, revealing hundreds of scars and cuts all along her forearm.

"Never once thought. Just did it." She added.

Jasper nodded. "Some of your issues are in fact from PTSD. However, you have symptoms of another illness that is even more complicated and unstable. But you're the psychiatrist, you can figure that out."

"How do you know so much about psychology?" Connie asked in wonder.

"I've been a soldier longer than Homeworld started colonizing other planets. I've seen a few things over the years and some of those things have affected me as well. Let's just leave it at that."

Jasper started to walk away, but Connie stopped her.

"Don't leave." She said. "I want to talk some more. Please?"

"Okay." Jasper replied, sitting down on the bed next to her. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why did you leave?"

Jasper hesitated before giving an answer, not expecting that personal of a question. Then after a few seconds of debating she answered.

"I didn't feel welcome. Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst made me feel like I wasn't part of the family."

"That's what made you leave?" Connie asked in confusion. "Since when did you care about how other people felt about you?"

"Since Steven helped me redeem myself. After I became corrupted, Steven helped me see the good in Earth. The good in the rebels, and he helped me see the error of Homeworld's ways. That was the first time I felt...more than just a soldier blindly obeying orders. He gave me purpose, and a reason to believe that I was good, that I wasn't evil. He taught me how to love, and he accepted me for who I was, but the Crystal Gems never felt the same way, even though I became part of Steven's family. They didn't treat me the same way he did, and after he left they got worse. I was done, and so I left, feeling like I had no purpose except be evil. They made me feel evil, but Steven loved me unconditionally. When he left, so did all the good in my life. I had nothing except my strength and sadness, until I found Ruby."

"What did you and Ruby do?" Connie asked.

"She was still suffering from the breakup with Sapphire. I found her trying to fight a straw dog he of how sad and angry she was. I was feeling the same way without Steven, and all her and I knew before becoming a family together was war and combat. We needed to use our skills to forget all the pain and so we formed Fight Club. Even though when Ruby and Sapphire were together, they both loathed me, Ruby wanted someone around who understand what we had been through. So for the last 8 years we've stuck together."

"How Carnelian Quartz born?" Connie pressed.

"Both of us missed fusion. There was a time we had went to a party for Fight Club's success and we started dancing. We were having a good time and for a few minutes we had completely forgotten all of our pain, and then we accidentally fused. She missed being with Sapphire, and I missed being with Lapis. And this time I wanted the fusion to be a choice, not something forced upon someone like I did when Lapis and I were Malachite. Truth is, when we were Malachite, at first I just felt...powerful. It felt amazing for the first time fusing, but then after awhile, being trapped underwear, I felt what I was like to be Lapis. Scared, panicked, trapped. I felt so bad, but I loved fusion so much, it made me feel complete. Just enough power, and now I'm connected to someone else for a change. I craved it, yearned for it for so long, and then Ruby and I fused. We were complete, our desires for fusion fulfilled, and we became a permafusion like Garnet. Then I felt what it was like to be Ruby. After being with Sapphire for so long, she had some remnants of future vision, but very limited. It was enough for me to understand how important of a role Garnet played. I felt important knowing that. I felt like a leader, something I've never been before. Is that a good answer for you?"

"It is." Connie approved.

"Good." Jasper said. "Anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"Who are all the Gems you had issues with?"

"That would be Pearl, Lapis, Garnet, and Amethyst. Well actually, Amethyst and I overall were pretty tight. Sometimes one of us, usually me, would go too far."

"Well since I'm bringing everyone home, I just want to ask everyone's opinion on everyone." Connie explained. "Is it okay if I talk to Ruby now?"

"Of course, let me go get her." Jasper said, getting up from the bed.

"One last thing." Connie said. "Are you and Ruby in love?"

"No, but we have become very close over the years." Jasper said before disappearing.

A few minutes later Ruby made it up the stairs and sat next to Connie.

"You called for me?" She asked.

"I wanted to ask you some things." Connie said. "How did you feel being Carnelian?"

"Well, it felt like home." Ruby answered, looking down. "I'm sure Jasper already told you, but I missed being a fusion. I missed...my Sapphy."

"Did fusion with Jasper help?"

"It helped a lot. It felt good to be with someone again." Ruby said. "And I learned a lot about what it felt like to be Jasper. She's a lot more complicated than she lets on."

"Jasper told me she had a problem with Garnet. Was that just you or Sapphire?"

"It was both of us." Ruby admitted. "Obviously it was mostly me, but Sapphire wasn't too fond of Jasper either, so yes we had issues with each other."

"Do you believe that you've patched up your relationship with Jasper after being fused so long?"

"Absolutely, and I'm happy we were able to become as close as we are now."

"Would you say you're in love with her?" Connie repeated for Ruby.

"No. No way. Even though we left on bad terms, my love for Sapphire will always stay strong. But I do feel very close to Jasper now."

"When I manage to bring everyone home, will you go back to Sapphire or will you stay with Jasper?"

"Like I said I'm not in love with Jasper, I'm going back to Sapphire. Even Jasper knows this, but it may be hard for her. That I will be very sorry for, but she knew this would happen if we ever went home."

"So said you and Sapphire left on bad terms. Why is that?" Asked Connie.

"Sapphire didn't trust Jasper at all, and Lapis really concerned her. Lapis and her eventually did cool with each other though, it did help that they were both part of Blue Diamond's court. But Sapphy hated Jasper for everything she's done. Tried to kill us, tried hurting Steven, forced Lapis to fuse, yeah Jasper did a lot. Then again I agreed with her but I wanted to give Jasper a second chance. Sapphire went ballistic and eventually she wanted to unfuse, so we did. Then a bunch of other things happened, blah blah blah, and here we are now."

"Any other gems you had a problem with?"

"I don't know. During those times it was every gem for themselves. I'll have to see everyone."

"Thank you Ruby. You can go now." Connie said.

Ruby got up and left Connie alone in her room, thinking about all she had gathered from Ruby and Jasper.

She heard everybody come back in the house, but instead of everyone either going into their rooms in the temple or just leaving the house again, they all just hung out in the living room talking to each other. They talked about life away from Beach City, they made peace with each other, and then Connie heard something that shocked Connie.

"I'm going clean." Amethyst announced. "Starting today you won't see this gem doing any more drugs or anything like that at all."

The gems cheered and congratulated her.

Then after the applause stopped, Jasper came upstairs into Connie's room.

"Hey um, Connie?" She asked a bit nervously.

"Yes Jasper?"

Um, me and the Gems were thinking...it's been a long time since we've been together, and since you've been bringing us all home, we were wondering what your favorite meal was."

Connie thought for a minute, then answered with "Spaghetti and meatballs with chicken patties and bosco sticks."

"Excellent." Jasper said. "We're going to make a big dinner for us all."

"Thank you Jasper. That would be amazing."

"Peridot said she'd made the chicken patties, Amethyst said she'd cook her famous four cheese cheesy bosco sticks, and Ruby and I will fuse to make the Spaghetti and meatballs."

"You're going to fuse to make the food?" Connie asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, Carnelian is a pretty good cook, and it'll be quicker because of her four arms." Jasper informed.

"Thank you guys so much. It really means a lot to me."

"No problem Connie." Jasper said before returning to the kitchen.

While the Gems started making dinner, Soren came up and sat next to Connie.

"You doing okay?" He asked.

"I'm better now. Not seeing any more crazy ghost ladies now." She cracked.

Soren couldn't hold back his smile. "That's good. I don't like seeing you like that."

"Aww, you worried about me like that?" She said, batting her eyes in a playful manner.

"Yes I do care." He said. "I care about all of you."

Connie didn't know what to say.

"I'm going to stay here and make sure I'm here if you have another episode, okay?"

"What, are you going to lay with me?" Connie asked, a little embarrassed.

"Oh, um...didn't think that through." Soren said sheepishly.

Connie made room on the bed for him to lay next to her. Seeing that as his cue, he layed next to her on the bed, but Connie had her back to him.

"Is this okay?" He asked.

"Yeah it's fine." She said.

While Connie and Soren layed there, she still felt a little afraid and vulnerable. Face feeling hot, she asked him "Can you wrap your arm around me?"

Soren did what he was asked.

"Thank you. I know this is weird." She said.

"It's fine Connie." He assured. "Anything for you to feel safe."

Connie did feel safe now, but because she used to lay like this with Steven.

Connie went about daydreamed once more, thinking about how long the peace will last before all Hell broke loose. Maybe everyone will forgive everyone, and they would be a family again.

She just hoped Steven never found out.

Her last thoughts before she feel asleep in Soren's arms was who the lady was and why she looked so familiar.

 **If I use the name of a medicine or something like I did in this chapter, look up what it means, as it will reveal more to the story that won't be directly addressed.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, be sure to review, fav and follow and I'll see you in the next one. Peace.**


	9. Metal Madness

**Welcome to another chapter! I'm actually really surprised at how much you guys like this story, I never thought it'd be this popular, so thanks a bunch for all my fans!**

 **Now that's been said, prepare yourselves, cause this story is almost over! Yes, three gems to find until the inevitable reunion with Steven! And remember in the beginning when Steven cut out his gem? Yeah, wonder why he did that...**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It had been so many weeks since Connie first began her search for the Gems that she didn't even count the number of search days anymore. She had almost everyone. Four gems, three to go.

Connie had gathered enough information from the GSA and other sources to find each of the last gems, Sapphire, Lapis and Pearl. She just couldn't decide which one she wanted to bring home first, and she also had to deal with whatever conflicts between the Gems arose. There hasn't been any problems yet, but the last three gems were the ones who would either start arguments or be the topic of an argument. Each of the last gems had many reasons to fight.

Pearl was in love with Rose, protective of Steven, and was a perfectionist. She wouldn't get along with Amethyst, Peridot, Jasper or Lapis.

Sapphire unfused with Ruby and would be angry at Jasper and Ruby for fusing.

Lapis was trapped in a mirror for centuries by the Crystal Gems, forced into a fusion, and was used to find Steven an destroy him and the rebel. She has blood with pretty much everyone.

So basically no matter who she'd bring home, Connie's situation would be fucked.

Connie was actually very thankful for the me that the gems made, everything tasted wonderfully and for the first time since her search began, everyone was together eating and talking, no ill feelings or arguments, everyone was happy. It was like old times, before the war had brought out the worst of them.

Well, not quite. But close enough for now.

As Connie helped cleaned the dishes that night, she decided she would go after Sapphire first thing in the morning, but she had another idea. Since she'd be bringing the "trouble gems" home, as she called them, Connie would have all the Gems at home (asked from Soren) stay in their rooms in the temple. Yes, even the former Homeworld Gems had rooms, they created them before the war began. After she brought home the last gems, Connie would have a huge get together and try to talk some sense into all of them before bringing Steven home. She didn't want the Gems to be fighting when the light of their lives came home.

So it was settled. Sapphire would be the next gem brought home. Connie was informed that Sapphire had become a fashion designer after the spilt up. She was famous for her trademark brand line of clothing, Blue Moon. She made dresses, shoes, formal wear of all sorts, and hats. Sapphire was world renowned, so it wasn't hard to find her. In fact Connie owned a few hats and dresses from her line of clothing, and Sapphire was the easiest to find.

It would be simple bringing her home.

The hard part would be making sure she didn't try to kill any of the Gems.

That night before Connie went to sleep she had taken both her prasozin and brexpiprazole pills and was fiddling around on her phone when she saw something that caught her eye. In a few weeks, Mr. Universe, aka Steven, was having a live performance in Las Vegas, and he was performing one of his cover songs; Dream On by Aerosmith.

Connie gasped. Dream On as the song that she saw on the pedestal of gems in her dream of Greg. That's why she dreamed about it, it was a premonition. Connie made a mental note to tell the Gems about this performance later.

Suddenly while she was on her phone Connie's necklace began to glow. All the Gems just started lighting up from the whirlwind of emotions she was having.

"No not yet." She whispered to the necklace. "Maybe never. The gems might actually get along for Steven's sake. You may never have to be used after all."

After speaking those words, the necklace's glow faded away.

Connie let out a sigh of relief. She stayed strong and kept her secret a secret a little longer. She didn't know how long should could keep it up though, she'd been hiding it from everyone except Steven even before the war.

Feeling safe from her nightmares, she feel asleep in a blissful haze.

Connie awoke the next morning well rested and nightmare free, so she decided to get to work finding Sapphire.

After she got dressed she went down to the kitchen table to find Sapphire's exact location when she saw a very odd sight. Amethyst and Soren were passed out together on the couch in the living room. It appeared they had spent the night together and passed out after a long night.

As Connie stared at the couple, Peridot came out of her room. She took one look at the couple and went back to retrieve a bottle of Captain Morgan before coming out.

"You think they're happy together?" Peridot asked, sipping from her bottle.

"They're not in a romantic relationship yet, so it's hard to tell." Connie replied, thinking back to the night Peridot confessed her love for Soren. "Why do you ask?"

"I asked because i was curious." Peridot said snootily, sitting down at the table next to Connie

Ignoring Peridot's tone, Connie pressed on. "What would make you so curious?"

"That's none of your business, earthling!" Peridot shouted, in a daze, indicating that she was drunk.

"Peridot you're drunk." Connie observed out loud. "You don't need any more liquor."

"I'll drink more if I want to!" Peridot continued to drink from the bottle.

"Why do you care about who Soren dates? Is it because of that night in the barn?"

Peridot's eyes filled with shock and rage.

"Oh yeah, Soren told me everything. Now are you going to tell me what your deal is or not?"

Connie asked.

"I...I don't want to say anything." Peridot responded.

Connie scooted her chair closer to Peridot so that she was arm's length away.

"I'm here Peridot. Talk to me."

Peridot stopped talking and silently drank her liquor.

"Peridot tell me." Connie pressured.

"I'm angry that he still picked her over me. That's all your getting out of me." Peridot said, her voice breaking on that last word.

"Peridot are you going to cry? I'm here for you to cry on." Connie assured.

"I haven't cried as long as I've been on Earth. Why would I now?" Peridot said.

"Because crying can help. I should know, I'm a psychiatrist." Connie explained

"I don't care what you are." Peridot said rudely. "I don't even care about this planet anymore."

"Peridot! You don't mean that!" Connie gasped.

"Damn straight I do!" Peridot snapped. "Ever since I got to this planet, all I've done is suffer from the gems' treatment of me and had my heart broken twice. I hate this place. It makes me miss Homeworld because there was no love at all. I if I were still on Homeworld, I'd never feel such turmoil inside. Fuck this place and fuck you, earthling. I hope you burn in Hell."

"So you're hurt because you didn't get the love of your life to love you back!?" Connie asked angrily. "Now listen here, you Dorito-looking bitch, I haven't seen the love of my life in a decade. You get to see your crush every day, and talk to him and hang out with him. I don't have that option, that's why I'm bringing everyone home! So I can see my Jam Bud again. Do you even know how lonely, sad, depressed, horny, longing and deprived I was without Steven? The day he left was our first romantic experience apart from holding hands. You don't get to act like how you are. So you weren't good enough for Soren? WHO GIVES A FUCK!? Find somebody else, or try to work things out with him. If you don't do either of those, then I guess oh well. But not having Soren is not a good enough reason for your behavior now or your drinking habits. Stop being a screw up and quit drinking, or I swear to God I will slap the shit out of you!"

Peridot just started and her, an expressionless look on her face. Then she looked away Connie felt back for going all psycho on her.

"Peridot I'm so sorry for lashing out like that. Noble or what I said was about you, I'm just acting out because of how stressed I am. Please forgive me." She pleaded.

Peridot didn't look at her or say a word. Instead she started bouncing her shoulders up and down, like she was laughing. Then Peridot turned to face her and Connie gasped.

Peridot was crying. For the first time ever.

Peridot wrapped he arms around Connie in an unexpected hug. Connie hugged her back while Peridot wrapped onto her shoulder.

"What's wrong with me?" Peridot sobbed.

"There isn't anything wrong with you Peridot." Connie said, running her hands through Peridot's shoulder length hair. "You're just dealing with rejection. We've all been there, sister."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I know what it's like to be rejected. You didn't know me when I was younger, but before I met Steven I was a loner. The quiet girl in class, always reading and keeping to myself. I had no friends because everyone rejected me and bullied me. I was like that for years until I met Steven. He made me who I am today."

"But when we all split up, didn't you become a recluse, just like you're saying you used to be?" Peridot pointed out.

Connie couldn't believe it, she was right. Connie reverted back to her introverted state of mind and never noticed it. Maybe she still had her own issues to work out.

"I'm such a fool for loving Soren. Or anything for that matter. Everything is backwards on Earth. Why am I like this? I even told Soren I understood and respected his love for Amethyst, but even when I said it I knew it was a lie. I just wanted him to notice me and see that I was more than a former technician. But no, it doesn't work out for a low level Peridot like me. Now all I have are my bottles. They seem to understand all my problems and eliminate then with each sip. I don't have Steven to help me get by, so I guess i just have to keep drinking."

Connie was at a loss for words. Peridot had been hiding her pain for years. In fact Connie believed Peridot was incapable of having any emotional pain.

Peridot pulled away from her hug. "I don't want to talk anymore. There's no helping me right now. Just let me have my bottle. If I keep drinking I'll forget this ever happened."

"Peridot?"

Connie and and Peridot turned around and looked at the couch where the couple were sleeping, but now Amethyst was awake, staring wide-eyed at them.

"Is that really how you feel about Soren? Have I been in the way? Did...did I hurt you?"

Peridot spring up from the chair and ran out the screen door, ashamed and embarrassed to even be in anyone's presence.

"Peridot no!" Amethyst called out to her but her cried were in vain.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked as she came into the room with Ruby.

"Peridot's gone rogue." Connie said. "We have to find her."

"Should I wake up Soren?" Asked Amethyst.

"No, he'll be the last one she'd want to see right now. We have to do this ourselves." Connie said quickly.

They all dashed out the door and spotted Peridot running on the sandy beach towards town. She passed the tenement and temporary shelters for the New Gem Army and the GSA, pushing past random humans and gems walking about.

"After her!" Connie ordered.

Connie dashed down the stairs while all the Gems simply leapt onto the Beach and made pursuit of the Gem.

The chase led the Gems to Funland, where Peridot had been cornered. When Connie and the Gems found Peridot she was sitting on a bench and crying.

"Peridot it's okay, we're here." Connie coaxed, trying to lure Peridot back to the house.

Peridot stopped crying. "Why can't people ever just leave me alone?" She said in a serious tone.

"Because we're here for you. Because we care about you." Said Jasper.

"Yeah, we only want what's best for you." Ruby added.

Peridot just sat there with her back turned, not saying a word. Her silence made Connie slightly afraid. Without consciously knowing she wrapped her hand around the grip of her sword.

"I have a secret to tell you guys." Peridot said. "A secret that only Steven and Amethyst know."

"And what secret would that be?" Connie asked.

Peridot got ups from the bench and turned to face the Gems. Then she took a look around the amusement park and all the various booths and rides.

"What is this place made out of? The rides and games here?"

Connie didn't see where she was going, so she said "I don't know what you mean?"

"Think about it. What is the type of material that makes an amusement park?" Peridot asked. It's made out of my favorite thing on this planet."

"Peridot we don't know." Connie said impatiently. "Just tell us."

"Oh no." Amethyst gasped in shock.

Peridot then made a gesture with both hands that looked like she was bringing her hands together slowly. Then there was a loud creaking that came from all directions of Funland. Then suddenly various items began gathered around Peridot and hovered in the air. Even the roller coasters themselves and the track floated to Peridot.

"Everything here..." Peridot said in a sinister tone. "...is made of Metal.

Then Connie realized what she meant but it was too late. The multitude of Metal objects, both small and large were thrown at Connie and the Gems.

"Watch out!" Amethyst cried out as they all narrowly dodged the metallic weaponry.

Connie drew her sword and the gems summoned their various weapons. Jasper was the first to attacks when she tried to spin dash into Peridot, but the ferrokinetic gem launched a dumpster at the Quartz warrior, sending her flying backwards into the sand and leaving a small grater behind.

Amethyst wrapped her whip around Ruby and threw her at Peridot, her gauntlet poised right for her face. Peridot raised a nearby manhole cover and used it as a shield against the attack. Ruby bounced harmlessly off the cover and feel to the ground.

"Peridot stop! We don't want to fight you!" Connie shouted to her.

"Of course you don't because it would be illogic for you to face me." Peridot sneered. "But I know you'll still try."

Connie gritted her teeth and charged at Peridot, sword drawn. When she was close enough to slash at the gem she struck, but something Connie hadn't foreseen happened. The sword flew out of Connie's hands and flew right into Peridot's grasp.

"Uh oh you have no weapon! What are you gonna do now, Earthling?" Peridot asked mockingly before throwing a trash can at Connie, sending her back some good distance.

"Peridot stop this chaos! Let me just talk with you. It doesn't have to be like this!" Amethyst cried out to her friend, hesitant to charge at her friend.

"But it does. You took away the love of my life." Peridot said, gathering even more metal. "Now I will shatter you into millions of microscopic particles!"

Just then Peridot lobbed a bench at Amethyst who dodged it, but then was blindsided by a chair Peridot threw from above.

"Take that you betrayed piece of crap!" Peridot yelled angrily.

By then Jasper and Ruby had recovered and had already fused into Carnelian Quartz. She lunged at Peridot and pushed past the metal bits she was surrounded in. Carnelian was quicker than Peridot could throw more metal, and so she managed to get close enough to super punch Peridot with all four arms. The force of the impact blew everyone back, including Carnelian and Peridot. Peridot quickly recovered and summoned a huge metal circle around her for protection from any more direct attacks.

"Lucky hit, but it won't happen again." Peridot said very matter of fact.

"We'll see about that!" Carnelian said confidently before charging again.

Carnelian ran to the circle and jumped into the air in hopes of landing on top of Peridot, but Peridot hit her in the air with a bicycle. Carnelian grunted with pain and while she was still in the air a volley of other bicycles rammed into her and effectively launched the fusion infinite ground in an Earth shattering crash. Connie and Amethyst both knew that Carnelian would be out of commission for a while.

"Peridot stop this madness!" A defenseless Connie yelled. "None of us want this!"

"Too bad, you've all brought this in yourselves. And you haven't even seen what I have planned." Peridot said back.

"STOP!" Amethyst yelled, causing both Connie and Peridot to freeze. Peridot dropped all the metal she had.

"Peridot, the night you told me you loved Soren, you said you would be fine with him and I being together." Amethyst said, walking up to Peridot. "Why didn't you tell me you were this sad?"

"I was being a good friend. I lied to you so I would spare your feelings." Peridot responded, tears just beginning to form in her eyes.

"But you've been keeping these feelings inside of you forever! That isn't something you should hide from everyone. Or me. Peridot I'm your friend. I'm here for you whenever you need me."

Amethyst held out her hand to Peridot.

"Let's just talk about this. Talk to me, please." Amethyst pleaded.

Peridot just started at Amethyst's hand, deciding whether or not she could accept her friend's gesture of comfort.

Then Peridot smiled and slowly reached her hand out like she was going to take Amethyst's hand. Then with all her might she punched Amethyst in the stomach.

"Argh!" Amethyst yelled out, doubling over and clutching her gut.

While she was distracted Peridot used her nearby metal to form two gauntlets around her fists similar to Garnet's. Then she got closer to Amethyst.

"Tell me Amethyst which one hurts more. A..." She hit Amethyst in the face with her left gauntlet, forcing her to cry out in pain. "Or B..." Peridot struck her in the gut again and Amethyst screamed out from the intense beating she was getting.

"Face..." Another punch to the face. "Or stomach." Another punch to the gut.

"Amethyst!" Connie screamed. Even though she had no weapon she charged at Peridot.

Peridot laughed at this reckless display of fighting style and pushed Amethyst out of the way, then braced for Connie's attack.

Connie ran over and raised her hand to hit her but then something suddenly happened. Peridot saw a concrete block nearby so she did the next big thing and literally tore out the metal bars inside and brought them over to her. As Connie got close enough, Peridot used her ferrokinesis to stab Connie in the leg.

Connie screamed out from the pain and froze there. Then Peridot made the metal bars bend may times and they stabbed her in various places on her body and coiled around Connie like a dozen snakes.

Peridot raised her opponent up into the air with her ability and had Connie hovering in the air.

"Peridot..." Connie begged.

"Huh. So much for being a hero." Peridot said coldly.

Peridot forced Connie high into the air and held her over the water of the Beach. After a few seconds of hovering she dropped Connie and she fell screaming into the water and immediately began sinking to the deepest depths of the sea. Connie struggled against her metal bindings and soon she sank so deep that she couldn't even see sunlight anymore.

Connie didn't take a breath before sinking, so she was already out of air. She was drowning. Her struggle was slowing down and her vision was blurring before it began to slowly fade away.

 _Well, this is it. I'm dying,_ she thought to herself.

 _Steven. I'm so sorry I failed you. I didn't protect them like I promised, and now they're going to never be a family again. I'm so sorry Steven. And I'm even more sorry that I won't be there to apologize to you in person._

Unbeknownst to Connie as she sank into the depths of the sea and accepted that she was going to die, her necklace began to glow.

* * *

 **Back on the beach...**

"Peridot stop!" Carnelian shouted as she leapt back out of the large impact crater she left behind.

Peridot had been viciously pounding into Amethyst with her metal gauntlets to the point where Amethyst had absolutely no strength to fight back, so she just accepted the beating.

"Why should I? See, even Amethyst knows she deserves this." Peridot said. "Otherwise she would be running away."

"I said Stop!" Carnelian yelled. She quickly spin dashed towards Peridot for a head on attack. Peridot used some metal objects to form a mini wall in front of Carnelian so she'd dash straight into the wall. Then Carnelian unexpectedly went around the wall and went full speed through tH metal circle. Peridot tried to form another wall but it was too late. Carnelian rammed into Peridot's right side and sent her flying across the shoreline.

Peridot got up from the Sandy beach and then did something weird. She took some of the metal and wrapped it around her feet into makeshift boots on her feet. Then she began to rise into the air and Carnelian finally understood what Peridot was doing. She put metal on her feet so she could lift herself into the air and, well technically be flying. Within a few seconds Peridot and her circle of metal were high above the Beach. Carnelian could only watch as Peridot rose higher and higher.

"This fight has gone on long enough, Peridot!" Carnelian yelled up.

"You know what, you're right. Let me finish this up then!" Peridot yelled back.

Peridot lifts d her hands up and even more metal from Funland rose to become part of her circle. She was so powerful that even the nearby cars and truck rose up as well. The circle around Peridot grew from several feet to several miles thick. Then Peridot used all the metal and formed an enormous ball of Metal that would destroy the whole town. Peridot flew above the sea and got into a offense stance.

Carnelian could hear several sets of footsteps around her. She looked around to find a sight that surprised her.

A small army of Gems from the tenements on the shoreline had taken arms and assembled on the Beach around Carnelian and Amethyst, who had collapsed from pain and exhaustion. One of the Gems walked up to Carnelian. She was light blue skin color and had long, white hair. She wore a blue hoodie and black skinny gems, and her gem was located on her throat.

"Are you Carnelian Quartz, the fusion of the original Ruby and Jasper?" She asked.

"I am." Carnelian answered.

"Don't worry, we would be proud to help you shatter this menace of a gem." She said, summoning her weapon which was a bow and arrow.

"No don't shatter her. She's just a Crystal Gem who's lost her way." Carnelian said.

"Understood Captain Carnelian." She said."I'm Aquamarine. These are my friends, Topaz, Emerald, Jade and Jewel."

"Nice to meet you guys. Be careful though, she's a very unique and powerful gem." Carnelian warned.

"Understood Captain. Lead the way." Said Topaz, gripping her broadsword with both hands.

"Well what do we have here, a bunch of wannabe heroes who'll just end up being shattering as well!" Peridot said sarcastically. "Oh well, I guess this town will have to make more memorials for you lumpy clumpy Clods."

The Crystal Gems readied themselves for a fight.

Peridot raised the giant ball of metal higher than the clouds and poised her hands so it would launch at the city, destroying everything and everyone within a 6-mile radius.

"Time to die, Clods!" Peridot screamed.

Then suddenly, before Peridot could launch the ball of metal, a huge sonic boom range off and made everyone freeze with confusion, even Peridot. Then it suddenly got really cloudy and it began to rain.

Then there was another sonic boom, louder than the last one.

And there it was. A flash of Blue light that pierced into Peridot, making her drop the ball into the sea. Peridot and the flash of light plummeted into the sand, leaving an even larger crater than the one Carnelian had left with her body.

When the sand had settled the shocked team of gems stared at the crater in awe at the sight before them.

Peridot was being beaten by another gem. The gem pounded into Peridot's face and body with quick and powerful punches and kicks.

Peridot raised her gauntlets to fight back but the Gem pulled out a mace made of ice and began to plummet her brutally into the ground.

The gems cheered on their new ally's frenzy except Carnelian, who went over to the Gem and said "That's enough, let her be!"

The new gem stopped and looked at her with her three eyes.

She had blue skin, short teal hair that looked like cotton candy almost, three eyes and two sets of arms. She wore a navy blue undress that went down to her knees and that had a good at the room. Her eyes were also blue, but the third one a little lighter than the other two.

"She was going to destroy the city." She said coldly.

"I know that and we appreciate that you saved us. We can take it from here." Carnelian said.

"Who the fuck are you? You don't even know this Peridot like I do." The gem said.

"You'd be surprised. I'm a fusion you know. And a fusion can recognize another fusion."

"Yes, we're both fusions. So what?"

"Tell me your name." Carnelian instructed.

"Aqua Cobalt." She answered. "Call me Cobalt."

"Okay, why are you here Cobalt?" Carnelian asked.

"I had some unfinished business in this town and I came back. Then I saw this crazy bitch trying to kill everyone, so I stopped her."

"I am eternally grateful you helped us. Now leave her alone."

"Fine. You're welcome." Cobalt said in a rude tone, walking out of the crater and leaving Peridot battered and bruised on the ground.

Carnelian walked up to Peridot and kicked her in the face, immediately spoofing her. Then she scooped up her gem and bubbled it before sending it to the temple.

Carnelian walked over to Amethyst and helped her up. Then the other Crystal Gems helped carry her away and into the house.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Asked Cobalt. "Unfuse."

"No way sister, not until you do." Carnelian said defensively.

Then Carnelian looked around and got a panicked look on her face. "Oh no, where is she?"

"Are you looking for someone important?" A concerned Cobalt asked.

"Yes I am." Carnelian said, a tone of worry present in her voice.

"Where's Connie?"

* * *

 **Holy shit, that was Intense. Guess there's a lot more to Peridot than meets the eye.**

 **Now I don't usually do fight scenes because I don't think I do them well, but when I started the fight scene it just flowed together. It was inspired by and based on the fight scene with Magneto and Wolverine at the end of "X-Men : Days of Future Past." I thought it was suitable because of Peridot's Ferrokinesis (ability to control metal), so it seemed perfect to base the fight off that scene.**

 **Now I don't mean to worry anyone, but there will be most likely at least 3 or 4 more chapters left until the end. Not sure how long everything will take, so bear with me.**

 **Also, I've been wanting to say something for a while now. It seems that a lot of people like this story and a few like another story i wrote called "Rebecca's Universe". I apparently have a decent amount of fans, so I'm going to come clean.**

 **I am only 14 years old. I am going to be a freshman in September, and I've been writing various things for quite some time now, but never on this site until a few months ago. And I have never finished any of my stories, so I'm going to make sure I finish this one. I know I am very young, so please tell me how I'm doing. Is my writing any kind of decent? Do you like my story, or at least the idea? Please tell me your opinion on my writing and what I'm doing right or wrong in the reviews or my contact info on my profile. And if I get some feedback, positive or negative, I'll give you some of my ideas for other stories, mostly SU or otherwise.**

 **So yeah, just wanted to know you you guys felt. Be sure to review, favorite and follow so I know to keep writing for you guys.**

 **Thank you for reading. See you in the next one.**


	10. Heart to Heart

**To the Guest that made the super long review about what I'm doing wrong with my writing and how I need to improve specifically on my descriptive writing...Jesus Christ, thank you! Please contact me somehow because I would love to express my gratitude and discuss further with you about my writing. It really helps me out, those are the kind of reviews I'm looking for. Thank you so so much.**

 **To the guest who reported me because i was in violation of one of the rules...what real person/people do I have in this story? I'm not mad or anything, but can you explain that to me? I actually do want to know what I'm doing wrong so I don't do it again in the future. But I don't have any real people in this story, so it seems like you're reporting me just to be a dick. I know you're probably not being a dick and is actually trying to help, but talk to me via my contact info on my profile or leave another review. Thanks.**

 **And here's my tenth chapter for this story. Sorry it's so short, I'm going to be doing better with making longer chapters, but I wanted to get this chapter our of the way so I can move on with the plot. Enjoy.**

* * *

The crew of gems along with Carnelian and this new fusion Aqua Cobalt helped pull the body of Connie Maheswaren out of the water and set her on a homemade stretcher. They carried the stretcher into the house and set Connie on the couch in the living room. And they just stared at her pale corpse in disbelief and loss, not knowing what to do next.

The friendly gem allies that had came to aid in the fight were there.

Carnelian Quartz and Amethyst were there.

Peridot, who had recently reformed into her signature outfit from before the war, and the new fusion known as Aqua Cobalt were there too.

And so was Soren. He had woken up when everyone barged in with Connie's body. And once he heard what had happened, he felt an overwhelming guilt for not being there to fix things and from being the one at fault for hurting Peridot.

But something happened while everyone stared at the deceased woman.

Every Gem there came together. There were no arguments or disagreements, fights or anything. Everyone was mourning for different reasons.

The allied gems were mourning because a hero from the Second Gem War had died. Was murdered in cold blood.

The Crystal Gems were sad because one of their friends, a member of their mixed face, was dead.

And Soren felt responsible.

Peridot felt absolutely terrible for what she had done. Connie had been trying to bring the Crystal Gems together so they could be a family again. But Peridot just botched any chance for reunion forever, and all because she was jealous. That destroyed her at her very core, and she wished for nothing more than to have Connie back.

Unbeknownst to the Original Crystal Gems, Aqua Cobalt looked at the corpse with a saddening expression, despite not ever meeting Connie. Each of her eyes were crying, meaning that both of the Gems who made Cobalt were sad. But no one noticed.

Then breaking the silence, someone spoke.

"To all the Gems who arrived to help me in battle with the exception of Cobalt, leave now and return to your tenements on the beach.

Without saying a word, they all left except Cobalt.

"Why do you need me here? " Cobalt asked.

"You said you knew Peridot." Carnelian said. "I will discuss that issue with you, but first I need to do something."

Then Carnelian unfused back into Ruby and Jasper. Cobalt gave them a look of shock, but Ruby, ignoring her, walked up to Peridot. Then she summoned her gauntlet and sucker punched Peridot in the gut.

"WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED YOU!" She screamed in a fit of rage, beating Peridot.

The others rushed to stop Ruby's rampage except Cobalt, who was standing there with tears in her eyes. As Amethyst and Soren pulled away Ruby, there was a voice that dominated the room.

"Enough!" Jasper shouted.

Everyone immediately froze and looked at her.

"What in the Hell is wrong with us? Is this what we are? Is this who we've become? All we ever do is fight. We argue, we fight, we bicker, and for what? When I renounced my loyalty to Yellow Diamond 14 years ago, I joined the Crystal Gems because I wanted to have what you had, love. You were a family, something that gems on Homeworld never had. I wanted to have a cause worth fighting for and be whoever and whatever I wanted to be. I had so many reasons to protect Earth and leave my home forever, but the one that made me stay was you guys. You and Steven. After Steven left, it broke us all, and I get that. But we all thought that was a good enough reason to fight against our fellow gems and betray one another. We lost the light of our lives, but we had each other. Why have we become these monsters? How did we become monsters? Is this why Steven left? Because we're monsters? Or did him leaving cause all this to happen? Well whatever the answer is, we need to change. Right now. If we ever want to find ourselves and get Steven back, we need to get all of our issues in check now, or The Crystal Gems will be no more. Do I make myself clear?"

All the Gems nodded.

Then Cobalt spoke. "Guys, look at Connie's necklace."

Everyone turned to face the body only to be overwhelmed with shock and confusion. The gem necklace around Connie's neck was glowing. And then something very strange happened...

 **Flashback to 14 years ago, before the war began.**

 **May 17, 2017**

Connie had just turned 14 when she had gotten the Gem necklace. It was a birthday gift from Steven, and she has absolutely adored it. The minute she opened the box with it inside she immediately put it on.

"I hope you like it." Steven said. "I made it myself."

"Steven it's beautiful, thank you so much!" Connie exclaimed.

"That isn't just any necklace Connie." Steven claimed. "It's made with magic, and it has special abilities."

"Really? What does it do?" Connie asked excitedly.

"Well if I told you what it did, it wouldn't work. And I made it was very special way. I made it so that whenever you need it, it'll work. But it has to be at certain times, you can't control it or have it do it's thing whenever you want." Steven explained.

"I understand, but I have one question. Is there anything you can tell me about it?"

"Well." Steven giggled lighthearted. "Let's just say it has a little bit of everything a gem has "

Although Connie didn't understand his words, Steven knew exactly what it did and how it would be activated. When the time comes, Connie would get an answer to her question.

But not in any way she'd expect.

 **Flashback over.**

The necklace was letting out a pink glow and everyone gathering around. The glow bonded everyone and they had to avert their eyes. When the glow feel finally faded the gems watched as Connie opened her eyes and sat up on the couch.

Everyone gasped. They couldn't believe that Connie has just rose from the dead, seemingly okay. They all waited for her to say something, anything to show if she was still sane after that traumatizing experience. When Connie did speak, it was an unexpected question no one saw coming.

"Who the fuck are are you?" She asked Cobalt.

The fusion gulped. "My name is Aqua Cobalt. I stopped Peridot from destroying the town."

"Unfuse." Connie instructed.

Cobalt didn't do it at first, shooting nervous glances at both Ruby and Jasper. "I'd really rather not."

"Then get out of my house and never return. Or you can comply with my wishes, and then we can all have a nice chat together about how things are going to change."

Cobalt tensed up and looked at everybody's faces before sighing and unfusing.

And the Gems gasped.

The fusion known as Aqua Cobalt...was actually Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire.

Ruby and Sapphire just locked eyes, many different emotions running through both of them.

Lapis and Jasper stared at each other. They were both embarrassed to see that the other had fused with someone else.

Everyone in the living room of the Beach house had many different internal reactions. Connie's was one that she'd been saving for a long time.

It was now officially like Democrats and Republicans in the house again. The differences of opinion and the choices they had made had affected each other in many different ways, but everyone in the room had issues with one another, whether big or small. And so Connie had a wonderful idea that would fix everything.

"I want each and everyone of you to grab a chair and sit down at the table. Now. Nobody say a word, just do it." Connie ordered in a calm but firm tone.

Slowly and awkwardly, everyone did what they were told and gathered in their seats at the table.

"Soren, I want you to leave. I need you to find the exact whereabouts of...the last gem " She said, not wanting to say Pearl's name in front of the others.

Without saying a word the former gem general flew out to the door and into the sky for the mission he just received.

The house was silent. The gems just looked around at each other in confusion, wonder, pain and sadness. Then Connie reached into her pocket and took out her bottle of Brexpiprazole, took quite few pills and set it down on the table with the label facing the Gems. They looked at it in confusion except for Lapis, who had what appeared to be a look of surprise and shock at the same but didn't say anything.

"So I have gathered you all here today because you Crystal Gems have a lot of issues to address." Connie explained. "Nobody will leave their seat until everyone has forgiven each other or explained why they are who they are. So who wants to go first?"

No one spoke.

"I will give you all three seconds. If no one says anything, I'll start shattering gems."

"I miss my family." Said Amethyst.

"Good start. Anyone else?"

"Lapis hasn't spoken since we fused, which was shortly after the split up with the Gems." Sapphire said. "It's just her style I guess. If she has something to say she'll write something down."

Lapis nodded to confirm Sapphire's words.

"I feel terrible for being jealous and going psycho on everyone. And...for what I did to you, Connie." Said Peridot.

"Even though I felt like you were out of control, I feel like you actually did forget i was drowning, so apology accepted. Never bring it up again."

"I felt like I deserved what Peridot did to me." Amethyst said.

"No you didn't." Said Peridot, shaking her head in shame. "I wasn't actually mad at you. Just was mad at myself. It's nothing important, just some abandonment issues. You were never th problem. When a peridot doesn't get what they try to get, it makes us feel like we're failures. I felt like that with Yellow Diamond's Army, and that's why I was so lost when I was with Steven for those first few months. All this love and compassion thing was new to me and I just didn't understand. A part of me didn't want to understand. Then I got to see why you Crystal Gems rebelled and protected the Earth, and I experienced things that I never would've on Homeworld. I began to live life on Earth, and when that happened it was a game changer for me. Then just fell in love with Soren and it was confusing at first. I didn't understand love was different depending on who it was for. It confused me because it wasn't logical. Like I said before, logic and reason we're everyone to me. It just consumed me I guess. But I never should have let my jealousy consume me. I'm sorry Amethyst. I hope you can forgive me."

"Nah I get it." Amethyst replied. "I get that way all the time. We cool. But you're still a nerd."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Peridot said with a smile.

"Anything else?" Connie asked, looking at one face to the other.

"I miss Garnet." Said Jasper.

The silence returned as Ruby and Sapphire started at each other with uncertain expressions. There was so visible hostility or sadness, just uncertainty.

Then they both spoke.

"I missed you." They said.

Then without saying another word the two of them leapt onto each other in a tight bear hug and a few seconds later Garnet stood before them.

"Hello everyone." Garnet said, smiling at them all. "Let's get down to business."

And so they did. Every Gem there at that table spilled their guts to each other, opened their hearts to one another, explained themsleves and made each other understand what it was like being in their shoes. After a few hours of crying, sharing opinions and just being honest with each other, something amazing happened. The love between everyone that they had lost so many years ago has finally been restored. There were no hostilities, no more arguments, just love.

"See? How does that feel?" Connie asked after the Gems finished talking.

"Better." Garnet responded.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Lapis? Do you have anything else to write on your paper?"

Lapis was given a pad of paper and a pencil to communicate. She shook her head no and then put her pencil down.

"Alright, well in that case-" Connie began but was cut off when Soren barged into the door. He flew so hard into the door that it came right off the hinges, then came to a stop in front of the table.

"We have a problem." He said grimly.

"Yeah you bright the door dumbass." Said Jasper.

"Way to go Soren." Connie added.

"I found Pearl. But she's got something wrong with her." He said, ignoring their mockery.

"Well we've found the last Crystal Gem." Said Garnet. "What's the issue?"

"Well to put it lightly, she's not doing too good. She's in a mental institution." Soren said.

"What? Why a mental institution?" Asked Peridot.

"Something happened to her when we split up. She's very close to becoming corrupted." Soren broke down.

"Then what are we doing here, let's go save her!" Amethyst said, springing up from the table before being stopped by Soren.

I know you want to help Pearl, but she's going to need more than just you to help her. She needs a psychiatrist to talk to her. Connie, you need to be the one to help her."

"You do realize that I've brought home every gem in this house, right?" Connie asked, slightly irked that she has to do all the work again.

"That's another reason why I'm sending you to bring her back." Soren explained.

"Fine. I'll leave out first thing in the morning. Will that be enough time?"

"Whatever floats your boat." Soren said before leaving the house again and flying off to God knows where.

"Do you think Pearl's in trouble?" Asked a concerned Amethyst.

"I'm sure she'll be fine after we bring her home." Garnet said reassuringly.

"Personally I think Pearl will be fine. She's just, what's the word...homesick." Peridot said.

"Well actually I might know what's wrong with Pearl. But you might not want to hear it." Connie warned.

"Come on, it's Pearl." Jasper said. "She's tough, so whatever it is is something she can handle."

"I want to hear it anyway." Said Amethyst.

So Connie told them about the dream she has with Greg, the pedestal of Gems, and the strange black gem that seemed to replace Pearl. After she explained everything, the Gems were left with more questions than answers. Like why Greg made an appearance years after his death, and why Pearl's gem was black and not it's usual shining white. It didn't seem to help them though, it just managed to worry the Gems even more.

"Do you think she's corrupt Garnet?" Asked Connie.

Garnet didn't answer right away, so Jasper spoke up. "It doesn't sound like Corruption. Believe me, I know what that is."

"It's not Corruption." Garnet said in a dead serious tone that scared Connie to ask more questions. "I know what it is because it's happened before."

"Wait Garnet you don't mean-" Amethyst started.

"Yes I mean that. **The Darkness."**

"The Darkness!? Oh no, she's far too gone. We need to help her right now!" Peridot said hysterically.

"What's The Darkness?" Connie asked, getting more worried by the minute.

"The Darkness is very complicated, even more so than Corruption." Garnet explained, adjusting her shades. "But to put it in words, it's a sickness of sorts. Gems can't contract any sicknesses or diseases on Earth, but The Darkness is something that happens inside of a gem at its core. When a gem goes through a large amount of emotional stress and sadness after a traumatic experience, The Darkness grows inside of a gem and begins to do bad things. If Pearl does indeed have the Darkness, she won't be able to summon anything in her gem stored away or her weapon, she won't be able to talk and she'll most likely in a state of insanity. The Darkness also affect gems the same way Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects humans. Like you."

Connie was overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions from listening to Garnet. A GEM version of PTSD would be monumentally stressful on Pearl, and she's already a bit of a mess. Connie looked sadly at her bottle of pills on the table, as she knew that her nightmares and panic attacks were a constant reminder of everything she's done and seen during the war. Connie felt for Pearl and made sure she would make Pearl feel as safe as possible and do whatever it takes to help her no matter the cost.

"You said this happened already before?" Questioned Peridot nervously.

"It happened when Rose died. She was absolutely destroyed inside when Rose died because she made Pearl feel like she was the world. Pearls have always been lower class gems, the lapdogs of high-ranking gems. But Rose was different. She believed every gem was equal and she treated Pearl as if she were a Diamond. So when Rose passes away she fell into a deep depression that soon led to insanity. The Darkness can lead to Corruption, and it splendid for Pearl but we saved her from it."

"How did you manage to do that?" Asked Jasper.

"She saw Steven for the first time." Amethyst spoke in. "When she met Steven and held him for the first time something changed her inside. She never did tell us what happened to her, but after meeting him she began spending more time with Steven and eventually she got better."

"It's true." Garnet backed up. " Steven somehow brought Pearl out of her own insanity and soon the Darkness faded away. So I'm guessing we need some kind of emotional event she needs to experience in order to be cured of the Darkness. But I'm just guessing."

"I have the perfect solution. And it's one you all need to see." Said Connie.

She stood up from her seat at the table and went up to her room. After a few seconds of rifling through her things she came back down with some kind of paper in her hand and set it on the table so everything could see. The gems looked at the paper and then looked up at Connie. Peridot, Jasper and Lapis had confused looks on her faces.

Garnet and Amethyst were completely different stories. Garnet simply stared at the paper in awe and utter shock, while Amethyst looked at it with tears in her eyes.

Amethyst looked up at Connie. "Is this real?"

"Yes it is and it showed up a while ago. It means Steven was here."

Then everyone looked at the paper with hope and happiness in their faces as the paper told that there would be a sudden turn of events that would change their lives forever.

They were looking at an envelope labeled **Mom.**

* * *

 **I wonder if anyone can see how this will go. I like being an author, it's like playing God, but People actually like what you're doing.**

 **Anyways like always be sure to favorite, follow and lea e reviews. Tell me how I'm doing! After I finish this story in the next few chapters I want to stop and learn how to write better because I have lots of ideas for more stories I want to write. Like that Guest reviews detailing the huge flaws in my writing. If you see a problem tell me, I won't be mad or anything because it helps. You are my fans, you matter to me and so do your opinions. I want to be the very best writer for you guys.**

Ok I'm out everyone. See you in the next one.


	11. Skeletons in the Closet

**November 1st, 2031, 2:30pm**

 **Entrance to Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital**

 **Empire City, Delmarva**

* * *

Connie checked the time on her watch to see if it was the hospital's visiting hours had already begun and sure enough they had been for a half hour now. She had just arrived at the large brick institution that Pearl was admitted in during her battle with the Darkness. The institution was similar to Falling Star, a decently sized building composed of aged red bricks almost like a school, but the building that stood before Connie was only one building out of several other ones that stretched out over a good 200 acres of land. The building Connie would enter would be the one that held some of the more unusual or questionable patients, including gems like Pearl. This would be an easy job for Connie, as her psychiatrist skills would come in handy with Pearl and anyone else in the institution, including other patients and the staff.

When Soren told the Gems and Connie where Pearl was located they all knew where he was talking about. Collingwood was famous for being the first major facility to house Gems after the Second Gem War. They took in regular humans in as well but they also housed Crystal Gems and gem soldiers left behind from Homeworld, giving them the well-known reputation they had. Connie had been recommended by many people to work there because of her experience with Gems, but Connie turned them down because she was still angry at the Originals and was afraid she'd find one or some of them at Collingwood.

"Are you ever going to go inside or do you plan on just standing there all day?" Peridot buzzed in the earpiece Soren had given to Connie for this task.

Connie put a finger to her ear. "Will you get off my case? I'm going inside so will you just leave me be?"

"Soren gave you that earpiece for a reason. He doesn't know what state Pearl's in so this is a safety precaution in case things go South." Said Peridot.

"And where is he anyway? Since he gave me the earpiece and wanted me to be as safe as possible, why isn't he in charge of running the mission?" Connie asked, struggling to grasp Soren's logic.

"He does want you as safe as possible, that's why he's flying right above the hospital grounds in case he needs to intervene. Plus he wanted me to keep busy and keep my mind of everything that's happened recently..." The tech-savvy gem trailed off.

"I can't see him." Connie said, looking up into the sky for a hovering humanoid.

"You're not going to see him, he's in the stratosphere."

"Lovely." Connie grumbled. "Okay I'm going in. I'll report back to you if something goes wrong."

"Understood." Peridot replied before going silent.

Connie made her way into the structure and went through the elegant pair of French doors to the reception area. A lone desk sat there in the room with a woman clicking away on her desktop computer.

"Hello I'm looking for one of your patients." Connie said to the receptionist.

"Do you have the name of the patient you wish to see?" The receptionist asked, continuing to work on the computer.

"Well the patient only has a first name, so it shouldn't be hard to find her." Connie told her.

"Name?"

"He's name 's Pearl. She's a Crystal Gem."

The woman stopped typing and looked at Connie with an expression that looked like a cross between shock and confusion. "You're looking for a gem?"

"Yes I am. I'm trying to bring back the Original Crystal Gems." Connie explained.

"Say, I think I recognize you. You're Connie Maheswaren, General of the New Crystal Gems." The woman said.

"Yeah that's me." Connie said sheepishly.

"Then if course you can see the patient." The receptionist said cheerfully, getting up from her chair and walking down a hallway. "Follow me."

Connie walked down the hall as the receptionist led her down a few flights of stairs that went deeper into the institution's lower levels.

"Now that I know who you are it doesn't surprise me that you came to see Pearl." The woman said. "There's been some buzz of you bringing the Originals back together."

"So people know that I've been looking for them?" Connie asked, wondering how news of her mission spread.

"Yeah it's all over social media. Most people believe what you're doing is a good thing, but a lot of people think you might start another Gem War on Earth because of the Originals differences with each other."

"Really? Tell me more about that." Connie requested, thinking the idea of her starting a war was ludicrous.

"Well everyone knows that the Originals didn't see eye to eye on everything and that sometimes they did bad things to each other, but no one knows what exactly went down with them. What we do know is that the Originals were all leaders of the New Gem Army, which means that if there was a conflict between any of the Originals, they could summon an army at will and then do battle with each other. That's what some people are afraid of, but it seems crazy. I for one support your quest to bring them home. Which brings us to Pearl."

"Yes it does. See I have been informed by one of my friends that Pearl was here, but she had succumbed to a gem sickness known as **The Darkness.** How bad is she infected?"

"There's not just one answer to The Darkness or what exactly it is." The receptionist explained. "We have many gems infected with the Darkness, and each one is drastically different, so it's hard to handle it when so many patients react differently to the sickness."

"Give me an example. I am a psychiatrist after all."

The receptionist stopped at a metal door that had a small glass rectangle where staff could observe one of the Gems subjected to the Darkness. In the middle of the cell-like room was a lone Ruby who was sitting on the floor mumbling random words to herself, almost in a sing song-like manner.

"This Ruby has been reported to have hallucinations and night terrors, which is why she talks to herself and sometimes even the walls. Whenever someone tries to communicate with her or enter the room she gets aggressive and attacks. Evidently she really hates Rose Quartz for some reason, but I forgot why."

The Ruby stopped mumbling and turned to face the glass viewpoint on the door and Connie gasped. She recognized the Ruby due to her gem being where her left eye would be, but instead of being a pretty shade of red it was blackened. It looked like the center of her gem had some dark mass that webbed out inside the rest of the Gem like tendrils trying to infect every inch of the Gem. Seeing the condition of the Ruby's gem both fascinated and horrified Connie.

"Eyeball." She whispered.

"Yeah that's what we call her too. Met her before?" Asked the receptionist.

"No, but Steven Universe described her to me once. She hates Rose Quartz so bad because she watched Rose shatter Pink Diamond, which is what started the First Gem War. Eyeball even tried to kill Steven once, but never succeeded. I guess her lust for revenge cause her insanity."

"There's what we've been thinking. Gems infected tend to lose their sanity, so we believe that could be a factor in becoming infected."

The receptionist walked up to another metal door and peered into the viewpoint while Connie did the same. Inside was a Quartz soldier who was frantically trembling and freaking out on a bed she laid on. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, telltale signs of insomnia. Her gem was on her chest and just like the Ruby was blackened by the Darkness.

"This one has nightmares whenever she tries to sleep, so she stays up for as long as she can each night."

"Does she have insomnia as well?" Connie asked her.

"Yes she does, but none of the treatments she's been given have worked."

They continued to a metal door once more but this time something unusual happened. The gem inside the cell was just sitting inside on her bed and trying to summon something from her gem but to no avail. She was an Era 2 Peridot, short in height and little in stature. Her gem was in her forehead much like Steven's Peridot, but her hair hadn't retained her triangular shape. Rather, it drooped to her shoulders and become messy and uncared for. Her gem was darkened like the other patients as well.

"This Peridot has been trying to summon her weapon for weeks now but for some reason is unable to pull out her weapon, or anything for that matter. This shows that the sickness can stop functioning Gem abilities and may also stop the process of reforming." The Receptionist explained.

"Why do you say that?" Connie asked in curiosity.

"There was another Peridot just like this one and she managed to poof herself using a cutting knife she stole from the kitchen. That was a month ago and she hasn't reformed into yet."

"That's unusual." Connie remarked.

"Very unusual." This woman agreed.

As they continued down the hallway Connie began noticing more doors, which meant more cells. Some serious quiet while other were being pounded on and shouted at by the infected gems held captive.

"So where's Pearl?" Connie asked, feeling unnerved and spooked by the infected's terrifying clamor.

"Right here." Answered the woman, opening a door and leading Connie inside.

And there she was. Pearl.

Connie had expected her to be in a state of aggression or fear, but instead Pearl was much stranger than any of the other patients Connie had seen.

Pearl was silent. Quiet and unmoving on the bed that she sat on. Pearl was staring off into space as if the receptionist and Connie weren't even there.

"Pearl is different than most of our patients." The receptionist stated. "She has all the same symptoms as the others you saw, but there's more. She can't speak, or at least chooses not to. She hardly ever acknowledges anyone, hardly moves, and uses her gem to replay old memories. Usually she watched battles from the wars or moments she spent with Rose Quartz or Steven. Sometimes at certain times of the day she replays a battle she and the Originals fought before the Second War. They battled some very bulky gem with tattoos and rainbow hair. It's funny, she never plays the ending. Do you know what happened?"

"Unfortunately I do." Connie sighed. "A new Gem from the Rebellion centuries ago had been found named Bismuth. She was fine at first but then Steven poofed and bubbled her. A while after that Steven unbubbled her and tried to help her but Bismuth attacked again. The gems fought her and poofed her once again but was accidentally shattered from falling off of a cliff. It was a dark day for the Gems, especially Steven. It was the first time he had failed to heal a gem and the first time he had watched a gem die."

"Oh." Was all the woman said in response.

"You understand that I have to bring Pearl home, right?" Connie said.

"I do and I won't stop you. I'll have to do some paperwork for you and you should be on your way."

"Good. Thank you for making this possible. Now all I have to do is bring Steven home and I'll finally have my family back."

"I hope everything works out for you. I'll leave you two alone while I do that paperwork for you." Said the receptionist, walking away and leaving Connie alone with an infected Pearl.

"Hey Pearl." Connie said, sitting down next to Pearl on the bed. "It's me, Connie Maheswaren."

The sick gem said nothing and continued to stare into nothingness.

"I've been looking for everyone and taking them home to Beach City.' Connie continued in a soft and friendly voice. "You are the last Crystal Gem. The others are already home. Jasper, Lapis, Peridot, and Amethyst. Ruby and Sapphire are home too and they refused into Garnet. Now all we need to do is bring you home. Then we can go get Steven too."

Pearl's face twitched when Connie said Steven's name. Connie took notice of her reaction and got an idea.

"You want to see Steven?" She asked.

Another twitch, this time full-bodied.

"We can find him and take him home if you come with me. Would you like that? Would you like to see Steven and the Gems?"

This time Connie got a clear response. Pearl looked dead at her and slowly nodded.

"Wonderful! Now come with me let's go home!" Cheered Connie.

When she got up Connie realized that Pearl didn't get up to follow her and alternatively remained on the bed.

"Pearl, will you walk with me if I hold your hand?" She proposed, holding her hand out.

At first Pearl hesitated and gazed at Connie's hand with uncertainty as if debating on whether it was a good idea to accept her hand or not. Finally she decided it was safe and stood up before taking Connie's hand.

"Okay then, let's go!" Connie said happily, walking down the hall and leading Pearl up the stairs.

"Have you succeeded in finding Pearl or will Soren have to come down and kick some butt?" Peridot buzzed in Connie's ear.

"No that won't be necessary. I've got Pearl and we're on our way out. Tell Soren that he can go home now."

"Are you sure you'll be okay without Soren's protection?" Peridot questioned. "We don't know exactly how the Darkness is affecting her."

"Trust me, I think we'll be fine. Just tell the others that I'll be home in an hour." Said Connie.

"Understood. Peridot out."

As Connie removed her finger from her earpiece and said to Pearl, "Everything's going to be alright. I promise you Pearl, we'll cure you and bring back Steven. Then it'll be like before the war, just one big happy family."

Although Connie was looking at Pearl when she said this words, she was secretly reassuring herself that everything would work out.

If only she knew of the storm that was about to hit.

* * *

After an hour long drive from Empire City Connie and Pearl finally arrived back in Beach City. While Connie drove she kept secretly observing the ill gem for any signs of symptoms mentioned by the receptionist at Collingwood. Pearl remained silent and continued to stare out into oblivion, but when they came into the city she actually looked at some of the buildings and shops that were in the city, almost as if memories of the time she spent here were starting to return to her. She didn't act like she was hallucinating or having any panic attacks and she wasn't being aggressive, so Connie thought that being back home is just what Pearl needed.

When the car finally stopped at the house and Connie got out she went over to the passenger door and opened it before helping Pearl to her feet and closing the door behind her.

"Come on Pearl. Let's go see the Gems." Connie said, hooking her arm in Pearl's arm and walking up the stairs.

After reaching the top of the stairs Peridot burst out of the door and closed it behind her before slumping against it in exhaustion. She was rapidly breathing as if she had strained herself trying to do something. Then she looked over and saw Connie and Pearl standing there.

"You don't want to go in there." She wheezed, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Why, what's wrong?" Asked Connie, afraid something bad had happened.

"That night that we all discussed our issues and forgave each other? Apparently it was all for show, because they're all arguing with each other." Peridot explained

"What!" Connie shouted in rage. "Oh they're in trouble now! Pearl you stay out here with Peridot, I'll be right back."

Connie left Pearl and Peridot outside while she barged into the house only to discover that Peridot's claims were true.

The gems all stood in the living room and were yelling and screaming insults at one another, bringing up issues they had in the past and ones that had come up recently while they had been returned home. Things had gotten so bad that Ruby and Sapphire unfused once more and they seemed to be the ones who started the fight. They were seething with rage and judging from their tones and body language things were about to get physical very soon if Connie didn't intervene.

"How could you fuse with someone else while we were split up!?" Sapphire asked Ruby angrily.

"Oh you're one to talk, you did the same thing to me!" Ruby accused. "I did it because Jasper needed someone to fuse with to see what fusion is really all about. She was redeemed! It's not like I fused with some stranger, I had a reason behind my actions. I bet you only fused with Lapis so you could get even with me. Tell me I'm wrong!"

"You think I'd stoop so low as to have revenge fusion with someone? Oh please by all means act like the hothead you are, but don't accuse me of something so vile and selfish as that. And why do you care Jasper so much, would you rather become a permafusion with her? Now look who's talking!" Sapphire shot back.

"Jasper became one of us, that's why. None of you trusted her after Steven taught her our ways of compassion and family, so I felt bad and wanted to be her first friend so the rest of you would give her a chance." Ruby explained.

"It's true." Jasper commented. "I felt some levels of hostility coming from all of you expect Garnet, who gave me a bunch of mixed signals. Then when Garnet came undone it turned out that Sapphire was the one who didn't trust me and Ruby was the one trying to accept me as one of your own, a Crystal Gem. I never meant for the two of you to fight, I just wanted to become part of your family. I'm so sorry that I brought all these grievances upon you all. That was never my intention."

"What were your intentions when you fused with my Ruby?" Sapphire asked in a not so polite manner.

Jasper gritted her teeth but remained calm and said, "That just happened one night. When we became Carnelian Quartz, it took me back to when Lapis and I were trapped underwater as Malachite. I missed being fused with someone, so after we all split I found Ruby and we fused again and neither of us wanted to be apart after that."

"Okay so let me ask the rest of you." Sapphire said, turning to Lapis and Amethyst. "The two of you were just okay with all of this?"

Lapis just shrugged, looking like she wanted to say something but remaining silent.

"I'll admit, I didn't treat Jasper with the respect she deserved and I honestly do regret that." Amethyst confessed. "Her being around us all the time was a constant reminder of what I was supposed to be and that I will always be defective, and I resented her for that. So when I saw Ruby becoming friends with her it angered me at first but then I realized how sweet it was for Ruby to do that for Jasper and supported their friendship without saying anything. Then Carnelian Quartz was born and I was happy for both of them. Ruby could be whole again and Jasper could see what it was like to be in a stable relationship unlike Malachite. It worked out for both of them, so I didn't see a problem."

"Thank you Amethyst." Said Jasper. "That meant a lot to me. And I'm sorry that I ever made you feel flawed and weak. When we were enemies I used it to mask my jealousy for your family's loyalty and companionship, but now I have no reason to say those horrible things about you. I'm sorry."

"S'okay, we cool Jasper." Amethyst said casually. "Like Steven said, us Quartz Gems stick together."

Jasper smiled. "That's what makes us the best."

"So what, all you guys are against me in this?" Sapphire said in defeat.

"It's not like-" Ruby started.

"IT'S JUST LIKE THAT!" Sapphire screamed, snow starting to fall from the ceiling.

"Well if your going to be like that you can get the Hell out!" Shouted Jasper.

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down Jasper." Ruby said, now in Sapphire's defense. "I appreciate your intentions Jasper, but no one talks to my Sapphy like that."

"Are you serious!? You're defending her after everything she just said to you and how she betrayed you? What about me?" Jasper said in disbelief.

"It's okay I get it, but when you've been in love with someone for as long as I have you'll protect your loved ones even if you disagree with them."

"Are you kidding-"

"ENOUGH!" Connie shouted at the top of her lungs, immediately drawing the attention of all the Gems in the house.

"What is wrong with you? I thought we moved past all this that night when we were at the table working our all of our problems." Said Connie in both confusion and sadness.

"We just did that so we could spare your feelings." Said Amethyst.

"Yeah, we know that you've been trying real hard to bring us all back. We didn't want to make things anymore stressful than they already are." Jasper added.

Connie was in a state of anger and disappointment, trembling with rage and hands tightly balled into fists. She looked like she was about to blow.

Then she stopped trembling and unballed her hands. She took a deep breath to clear her thoughts, then called out to Peridot and Pearl.

"Can you hear me from out there Peri?"

"Affirmative Connie." Peridot replied.

"Good, because this is something I want all of you to hear."

The gems tried to mentally and spiritually prepare for the explosion that was about to come from the woman.

But what she said hurt more than anything imaginable.

"I didn't bring you all back because i missed you all. I did all this for Steven. You guys lost nearly all my love for you guys, and I would've been satisfied if I never saw any of you ever again. What you gems don't know, is that on the night Steven left a decade ago, he made me promise to take care of you all while he was away. I broke that promise when you all left me here alone. That destroyed me, the fact that I wasn't able to keep a promise for someone I care about. That guilt has been haunting me for years now, it made me disconnect with reality and made me becoming a recluse. I failed him, but when I saw the message he sent I saw it as a way to redeem myself before he found out that I broke my promise. I did this for him and for myself, not for any of you. And something else happened that night that made me feel even worse about him leaving and me breaking my promise. He confessed his love for me and we shared our first kiss. That made me feel so guilty you could not even begin to fathom. But no, you all just left and went your separate ways without the knowledge of what I just shared with you. Know do you understand why I'm doing this?" Connie started crying at this point. "I don't care about how you feel towards one another or how much Steven loves you all. I just want the love of my life back. Is that so much to ask for? Do I deserve to never see him again and live the rest of my days with the knowledge that I lost the only person I've ever loved forever? If that's the case just kill me now. I have nothing to live for anymore so just end me. Here, just to make sure I stay dead this time."

Connie reached around her neck and unclasped the necklace before throwing it at the Gems to show that she was really ready to die. She didn't want to accidentally come back to a world where she'd be alone forever. Then she curled up into a ball on the floor and continued crying to herself while everyone just started at her.

None of the Gems knew what to say or whatever to do. Every one of them had tears in their eyes and we're feeling ashamed for fighting over issues that seemed petty compared to Connie's.

This was when Peridot walked through the door with Pearl on her arm and everyone was in shock at the new guest. Ignoring the gems' faces Peridot led Pearl to the couch and sat her down before taking a seat as well. Although Pearl never broke her gaze from nothingness, she too had been crying as well as Peridot.

Finally after a few minutes of consuming guilt and silence, Connie rose to her feet since no one took her life.

"Okay. Since you believe I do have a reason to live, listen to this."

Connie reached into her pocket and pulled out the envelope labeled **Mom.** She opened the envelope and read the letter aloud.

 **Dear Rose Quartz,**

 **This is your son whose words you're reading. If you are reading this, then my plan has worked, or part of it anyway. I hope it worked, because I'm sacrificing a lot to make sure you and I can both exist. I'm not just doing this because I want to meet you, cause believe me I do. I'm doing this for the Gems as well. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl all desperately miss you, and I want you to meet some more gems who have joined the team. There's Peridot, Jasper and Lapis Lazuli, and believe it or not, another one hundred thousand some other gems that I healed them from their Corruption. Yep, a lot has happened since you, um...passed.**

 **But here's a summary. I healed all the Gems in the Burning Room, fought in a four year long war against Homeworld, and became a musician like Dad did, but actually successful.**

 **Speaking of Dad...well, people believed he died in the war, but that's not exactly true. I know where he is and what happened to him so don't worry, you'll see him again real soon.**

 **As for the Gems, there has been a lot of issues between them when you died, and they fight sometimes. Sometimes about you, and sometimes about what they've done to each other. It's my fault because I was never the leader you were, never as powerful or adored like you were, so if you are alive you should go talk to them. It would really help.**

 **Unfortunately you won't see me when you reform because after the war I left the Crystal Gems because I was tired of trying to be like you when...I'm not you. I was weak and useless to them and even though they never told me, I always knew they wanted you bad and wanted me gone forever. Now you can all be a big happy family again. I'm sorry I ruined everything.**

 **But look on the bright side. Everyone's going to be so happy when they see you again. It'll be the only good thing I've ever done for anybody.**

 **By the time you read this, it'll be 2031. The war will be over. I will have left and you will be alive. See, I wrote this in 2017, before the war started. The War would end most likely in 2021 and that would be the year I left the Crystal Gems. I was only 15 when I wrote this because I knew all this would happen. I spoke to a Sapphire I healed and she didn't tell me details, just years when important things would happen. Guess she was right.**

 **And yes even though I'm very young to have all this stress in my life, I still have it because I'm not like you. I'm an abomination, but you are perfect. Everyone will love you, even the former Homeworld Gems Peridot, Jasper and Lapis, and the countless gems from the Rebellion I healed. You'll have a following once more and people loving and adoring you for the rest of Eternity.**

 **And life will be better for everyone having you around instead of me.**

 **I'm sorry you'll never meet me. It's for the best.**

 **I love you Mom. Never forget that.**

 **-Steven Quartz Universe**

* * *

 **I hope this chapter made up for the last one. I put a lot more effort into this one because of how rushed and short the last one was. Hope I did better this time around.**

 **3 more chapters left in this story. Just a heads up. The ending will be pretty decent i hope.**

 **Anyways like usual be sure to favorite, follow and review this story, it shows me that I should continue writing stories on this site after I learn how to improve my writing Thomas's even better stories. PM me if you guys have any questions, comments or anything like that but since we're so close to the end, I will not reveal any spoilers or anything of that kind. I know how I'm ending the story, so you'll just have to wait and see how I do it.**

 **I'm out guys, see you in the next one and have a great time reading the next few chapters. Happy Reading!**


	12. Pearl and the Darkness

**November 2nd, 2031, 11:46am**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

 **The Beach House**

 **2 weeks until Steven's concert**

* * *

It was the day after Connie read the letter to the Gems and the house was eerily quiet the rest of that night and so far all of this morning. Everyone's minds were on Steven and what he was going through when he wrote the letter. Did he really harbor all these feelings from them for all these years? No one could believe he had that kind of stress at such an young age, and even more so that he's been living with that stress for over some decade. Each of the Gems had their fair share of guilt and remorse for making Steven feel the way he was, and that guilt was clouding up the room with awkward interactions and a consuming silence that was so quiet it seemed loud, screaming into the ears of all the Gems for being who they are and reminding them that everything that has happened was their fault.

Nonetheless, they still did some things to take their minds off the events that transpired. Ruby and Sapphire were sitting on the couch watching a movie on Peridot's tablet. Peridot was drinking again but not alcohol, it was just some Coca-Cola. Jasper was outside lifting weights and fighting punching bags. Amethyst was trying to get Pearl to do or say anything to no avail, and Lapis silently observed Amethyst and Pearl while listening to some music with her headphones on an IPod she bought for herself.

Although Steven's letter was on everyone's minds, the things Connie said also filled the Gems with remorse for making things worse for Connie. All of them already knew that the war had done something awful to her, so everything that's happened had to make her life a living Hell even more so. At the same time though, her words didn't hurt because they already knew that Connie cared about Steven more than them ever since the big family's split. The Gems truly believed Connie had no more love in her heart for them and that was just another thing they would have to live with forever.

Despite the residents of the house being down in the dumps, they were excited knowing that Steven's concert was only a couple weeks away, and they wanted to clean up their acts before the big night, which was one of the reasons why Peridot was drinking Coke instead of alcohol. Ruby and Sapphire were hoping that spending some time with each other would relieve tH tension they had between them. Amethyst wouldn't give up on Pearl, and Lapis...well, no one knew why Lapis was just staring at people with her music blaring. It was actually kind of unnerving.

Soren had been gone for a little while ever since he sent Connie to Collingwood. That was noticed by all the Gems, and they were wondering why he wasn't present when all Hell broke loose. Strange.

While the Gems did their various things Connie came down the stairs from her bedroom shaking her pill bottle into her palm only to find that it was empty and all the pills were gone. Without saying a word she threw the empty bottle aside in frustration and walked over to Pearl and Amethyst. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Lapis went over and scooped up the empty bottle before putting it in her pocket and returning to her seat at the kitchen counter.

Connie sat down on the couch next to Pearl and Amethyst and said her first words since she read Steven's letter. "How's she doing?"

Amethyst gave her a weird look, confused as to why Connie was speaking to her after admitting she didn't love the Gems anymore.

"How's she doing?" Connie repeated.

"Well..." Amethyst began nervously. "She's moving a lot more than she was before. She doesn't stare off into space anymore, she actually looks at you when you speak to her. And she seems to be able to walk around just fine and does whatever she wants now. She still hasn't said anything yet, and today she is trying to ignore everything that's...happened recently." She trailed off.

"Is it okay if I talk to her?" Connie asked.

"Knock yourself out." She replied, moving down the couch to give Connie some room.

"Hey Pearl. You doing alright?" Connie asked calmly, taking Pearl's hand.

Pearl looked at her with a blank expression and gave her a slight nod.

"Are you excited to see Steven soon?"

Pearl didn't respond, but her eyes began to tear up at that question.

"Don't cry Pearl. It's almost over, don't worry." Connie said reassuringly, wrapping her arms around the thin gem in a warm hug. Pearl returned the gesture and ended up breaking down in harder crying and a more steady stream of tears flowing down her cheeks.

The sight of the two old friends hugging each other in spite of everything that's happened was truly a heartwarming one. All the Gems in the house stopped what they were doing and watched the beautiful scene unfold. It made everyone had hope that Connie did have some love left for the Gems, at least a little bit.

Then something horrible happened. Pearl suddenly began to cry out in pain as if something was hurting her. In surprise Connie let go and watched as Pearl fell to the floor clutching the blackened gem in her forehead and screaming bloody murder. She began to violently shake as if she were having a seizure and all the Gems gathered around in attempt to calm her down and see what the problem was.

"Pearl what is it!? How can we help?" Asked Amethyst.

Pearl could only howl in pain in response. Then something even worse happened. Her infected gem started to glow, but instead of the natural white glow it should be it was a dark grey light that filled the room. Then in a grey and blue flash the house filled up with hundreds of Holo-Pearls armed with razor sharp swords ready to fight.

"Oh boy, that's not good." Said Peridot, backing away towards the others.

"No it's not, but what else is knew?" Asked Connie, drawing her sword and getting into her battle stance.

While Pearl continued to tremble in pain the the floor the Holo-Pearls stood at the ready, prepared to strike.

"There's too many! How will we get through them?" Asked Ruby, summoning her gauntlet and holding Sapphire close, who had her hands aimed at the Holograms prepared to fire a volley of deadly ice spikes.

"I've got this." Peridot said confidently, stepping forward. She stuck her hands forward and put them together, tops of them touching. Then in one swift motion she pulled them apart and the Holo-Pearls aren't flying in all directions into walls and furniture, giving Connie and the Gems an opening to escape outside. Seeing an opportunity they ran to the door while the holograms recovered and went outside before running down the stairs and regrouping by Jasper.

"How did you know that would work?" Connie asked.

"Their swords were made of Metal." Peridot answered with a cocky smile.

"What's going on? I'm trying to train here!" Jasper said in annoyance.

"Pearl started wigging out and she accidentally made a bunch of Holo-Pearls who are trying to attack us!" Amethyst summarized before summoning her whip.

"Oh great, as if we didn't have enough problems on our own." Jasper grumbled while she summoned her battle helmet.

"Get ready everyone. Here they come!" Connie said.

True to her words the Holo-Pearls began leaping down from the stair charged at Connie and the Gems. Connie was the first to charge back towards them and she signified the first attack of the battle by slashing a Holo-Pearl horizontally across its abdomen, immediately vanquishing the enemy and reducing it to a puff of smoke.

Another group of Holo-Pearls came forward but Connie hacked each of them down with one swipe of her sword and going on the defense if she needed to.

The number of holograms were steadily increasing and Connie was about to be overwhelmed but Amethyst and Jasper plowed through them using their Spin Dash. Then when the two quartz gems stopped they immediately went of the offensive, Amethyst splicing and throwing holograms while Jasper bashed them with her helmet or resorted to beating them senseless with her bare hands.

Ruby joined Jasper in fighting hand to hand combat, using her single gauntlet to bop the enemies into harmless wisps of smoke. Sapphire didn't stray too far from her lover, giving any nearby Pearl an icy blast and sending them into oblivion.

Lapis used the sea to wash Hologram Pearls away and drag them into the dark and murky depths of the sea. As easy as it was for her the continuous onslaught of the holograms were making it difficult for Lapis to not accidentally attack her friends. Then after awhile of fighting Lapis used the water to make water duplicates of Connie and the Gems to attack the Holo-Pearls and give the Crystal Gems assistance with a garrison of friendly fighters.

Peridot couldn't do much except summon all the buried metal items left behind by people and hurling them at the hostile soldiers, which was providing to be difficult but she didn't give up.

Despite everyone working together to fend off the rogue holograms, the number of enemies only seemed to grow. Connie was getting tired from constantly striking or blocking attacks and she could tell she had to stop soon or she'd fall.

Then help came.

A group of gems appeared by the Originals and began to attack the holograms, quickly cutting them down and greatly reducing their numbers enough or give everyone some breathing room.

"Hey everyone, it seems like you guys can't stay out of trouble!" Aquamarine exclaimed enthusiastically, her bow drawn.

"Aquamarine! It's bloody good to see you again!" Said Jasper, pumping her first into the air.

"Well we couldn't just let you guys have all the fun!" Said Jewel, holding her spiked staff with both hands ready to fight. Jewel had light orange skin like orange juice, shoulder length auburn hair and her outfit was a short black undershirt that exposed her midriff and khaki shorts. Her feet were bare. Her gem was right about her belly button.

"Plus we didn't get any action last time there was trouble here." Added Jade, summoning her dual sais. She had pale green skin, dark yellow and long flowing hair and she wore a strapless and sleeveless undress that was white. She also wore white dress shoes. Her gem was right above the valley between her breasts.

"Come on! BRING IT HOLO-PEARLS!" Topaz screamed at the house, with her two-handed broadsword. She had navy blue skin, very short dark blue hair and she wore a thin maroon sweater and black skinny jeans. Her gem was where her left eye would go if she had one.

"Let's do this." Said Emerald, gripping her battleaxe. Emerald was the same green as Peridot as well as her hair, but her hair went down to her chest and she had a third eye on her forehead. Her gem was on her left shoulder.

Right when Emerald said that another swarm of Holo-Pearls leapt from the Beach House and landed on the sand in front of the Gems. They raised their swords and charged at the Gems.

The first to go on the attack was Aquamarine who aimed her bow and fired an arrow at the front of the swarm. The minute it came in contact with a Holo-Pearl it caused an explosion that wiped out a good chunk of their numbers. Then it was one.

The gems attacked with everything they had to fend off the holograms. At first they thought they had the upper hand with me extra numbers now in the house Pearl couldn't stop making Holo-Pearls, so they just kept coming. Eventually Ruby and Jasper fused into Carnelian while Lapis and Sapphire fused into Aqua Cobalt. While the other fought on the ground Cobalt used her water wings and took the the skies. She'd manifest a volley of large spikes of ice in the air next to her and unleashed them on the Holo-Pearls, destroying most of them just with that attack. Alas it was a waste of time and energy, they just kept coming. Soon the Gems would get overwhelmed.

"They keep coming, what to we do!?" Asked Cobalt from the sky.

"We need to make a rush for the house and try to stop...well what exactly's happening?" Questioned Aquamarine.

"It's Pearl. She's infected with the Darkness and she's not in control right now." Peridot answered.

"The Darkness? Never heard of a Pearl that became infected." Said Topaz.

"Until the Gem Wars, have you ever heard of a Pearl that fights?" Asked Jasper, trying to make a point.

"Guess you're right." Topaz credited.

"So what's the game plan?" Said Amethyst.

"What we need is-" Aquamarine began but stopped when her and the Gems took notice of something that was happening.

"Oh god no. God no God God it's happening again. Shit, shit, we're going to die. I'm going to die. They're just holograms, we can take them. But there's too many of them. They have no emotions and they don't fear death. I was never as skilled as Pearl or her holograms. No, I can't. Stop, shut up. I said shut up! Get out of my head, it's over, we've lost. Pearl will be shattered and it's all my fault. How many gems are on my hands now? Jesus Christ we're dead. STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO! I said leave, LEAVE! This is a fight we cannot win! Oh god oh god God no please. I'm not mentally ill and I'm not from Amityville, so just SHUT UP!"

Connie was completely losing it. She was talking to herself and telling someone to shut up even though no one has talking. She was going insane. She was suffering from withdrawals from her meds that ran out.

She was having an episode.

"Connie listen to me." Aquamarine said slowly. "You're having an episode. Just calm Dow and think things through. We're not going to die, I can promise you that."

Then suddenly Connie's necklace began to glow a pink light.

No one knew exactly what happened when the necklace glowed but it made Connie stop freaking out and it eventually calmed her down enough.

"I, I'm so sorry you guys had to see that." Connie apologized, shaking her head in shame. "I hate it when I have episodes in front of you guys."

"Wait you're better now?" Asked Carnelian, puzzlers by what just happened.

"I guess I am. And I have an idea. Aquamarine, can healing powers cure the Darkness?"

"I don't know. We could try it." Aquamarine said.

"Um if you guys didn't notice, none of us have healing powers you Clods." Peridot reminded in her trademark annoyed tone.

"Yes I do. I just need someone to clear a path for me to the house while I heal Pearl."

"I can fly you over there." Offered Cobalt, summoning her water wings.

"And we can make our way to the house on the ground." Suggested Jade.

"Perfect. Already everyone be safe and when i get in the house just wait." Connie said, wrapping her arms around Cobalt's waist.

"I'm sorry but can I just say that this plan is crazy and almost guaranteed to fail?" Whined Peridot.

"That's what makes it fun." Cobalt commented before taking flight with Connie.

Cobalt flew in the air towards the house until she was dangling Connie over the patio of the stair, where Holo-Pearls kept pouring out of the door which was busted off again.

"Hey Peri, looks like you'll have to fix the door again," Connie yelled across the Beach.

"Fuck!" Peridot screamed in frustration, earning hearty laughs from both Cobalt and Connie.

"Hey Cobalt can you mop up the patio for me please?" Connie asked.

"I sure can Connie," Cobalt answered. She manipulated the sea to do her bidding and manifested a large hand made of water. She then willed the hand to sweep across the platform on the stairs and washed away all the holograms currently on it, giving Cobalt room to land and so she and Connie touched down.

"Wait here Cobalt and make sure nothing gets out if it goes through me," Connie instructed before walking through the opened up doorway into the house.

Pearl was still on the ground wriggling around from the intense pain she was feeling but she had momentarily stopped spawning more holograms of herself. Her gem was glowing a deep black color that cast a shadow across the room. Connie ran over and knelt by Pearl's side to help her.

"Pearl can you hear me? Say something if you can hear me," she said.

Pearl's pained cries were her only response.

"Okay that's close enough," Connie said back. "Now I'm going to try something that may help with the pain. Can you try to lay still for me?"

Pearl lay there on the wooden floor rolling around hysterically and clutching her gem, but after a few agonizing seconds she slowed her rolling down until she was still enough for Connie to work. Then the pink glow from Connie's necklace returned and her eyes began to glow. She put her hands up to her mouth and licked them both, then placed them onto Pearl's infected gem. Nothing happened.

Pearl continued her howls of pain as if nothing happened and it seemed that all hope was lost and that Pearl would die.

Then something amazing occurred.

Pearl's gem began to glow again but instead of the unearthly black glow it has before, it glowed with its natural white look as if she were no longer plagued by the Darkness. The disgusting black substance inside of the Gem began to rapidly dissipate until it has been completed purged from the shiny rock, now glowing in all it's former glory.

Pearl stopped screaming which was a positive reaction, but she passed out from exhaustion and then she retreated into her gem.

It was over. **The Darkness had finally been purged.**

 **A few hours later...**

The Crystal Gems were resting from their long and exhausting fight with the Holo-Pearls inside the Beach House. Everyone was either resting on the couch or laying on the ground, too work out to do anything else. The only one who wasn't overcome with fatigue was Peridot, who had just finished fixing the door again for the second time in a week.

"I'm not fixing this door for you the next time one of you dipshits break it off again, understood?" Peridot said to everyone.

"Yes I understand Peridot, thank you for your help." Said Connie.

While they layed there and rested Connie told Aquamarine and her team about everything. The story about Steven leaving the Crystal Gems, the family splitting up, Steven's message (that as it turns out that every gem on Earth had received), how Connie was trying to bring by everyone home, and Steven's letter to Rose.

"So does that mean Rose Quartz will be reformed somehow?" Aquamarine asked after Connie finished telling them the whole story.

"Yes we have reason to believe that Steven has found a way to bring back Rose. That might've been why he left us all those years ago," Connie replied.

"And you plan on seeing him next when he has his concert next week?" Emerald asked.

"That's the plan. We just need to wait for Pearl to reform and we should be all good," Sapphire said.

"Would it be okay if we met him as well?" Topaz requested shyly as if her were afraid to ask.

"Of course you can meet him," Connie said promisingly. "Not only have you helped us when we needed it, I'm sure he'd love to meet a celebrity such as yourself,"

"Oh so you do recognize my team and I?" Aquamarine quizzed.

"You're the Breakout Squad." Connie went on. "You and your team were captured and help prisoner in Homeworld controlled territory and were about to be executed but you guys broke out and freed a bunch of other Gem prisoners and you and your army pushed Homeworld forces out of New York. I know all about you. So I'm positive Steven would love to meet you all."

"Excellent, many thanks to you Connie," Emerald said gratefully.

Connie got up from the couch and went up to her room to check on the two gemstones on her bed; Steven's and Pearl's. While she was checking up on them Pearl's gem began to levitate and glow a beautiful white light and Pearl reformed. Her outfit was different from what she had on before. Her hair was the same shape and her facial features hadn't changed at all, but now she wore a white sundress with a Honolulu blue miniskirt sewn into the bottom of the dress. She had kept her ballerina slippers but her old leg warmers had returned and so did the sash around her abdomen but this time it was black with a bunch of yellow stars spangled all over it.

Connie locked eyes with Pearl to see of her plan had worked and that Pearl was cured. Are first Pearl didn't say anything and looked around at her surroundings as if this was her first time being in the House. Then Pearl made eye contact with Connie once more.

Then tackled Connie with a super tight bear hug.

"Thank you," Pearl whispered in bed ear. "Thank you,"

There was a creak from Connie's stairs and they broke from their embrace to find Amethyst standing there with her mouth hanging open in shock.

They all stood like that for what seemed like forever.

Until Amethyst spoke.

"Pearl...," she said, tears in her eyes.

"Amethyst!" Pearl happily cried out and the two embraced each other in a hug with neither of them with the intent of ever letting go.

"Come on you two, let's go see everyone else," said Connie, finally relaxing completely knowing that Pearl was cured and that everything was okay.

While Pearl was hugging and reconnecting with the Originals and meeting the famed Breakout Squad, Connie pulled out the envelope with Steven's letter inside and handed to Pearl. She took it and looked it over before giving Connie a confused look.

"That letter was one written by Steven," Connie clarified.

Pearl's eyes got wide and her jaw dropped.

"Sit down, we have a lot to talk about,"

* * *

 **So there you have it everyone, the last Crystal Gem is home and now completely sane and cured of the Darkness. Now all we need is one more Surprise chapter I know that none of you will be expecting, a startling revelation, and eventually the inevitable reunion with Steven. This is the point of no return, shit's about to get real. No more safety nets, no more sugarcoating everything, these next two chapters will be the end of the story. I hope your ready, because even though I'm making it seem like a happy ending, it may be different than you could ever imagine.**

 **Here's a hint to the revelation I mentioned above. Connie has been taking pills diagnosed to her by someone, she now has a really bad temper unlike when she was younger, and she has what we call "Episodes". I wonder what that means. The secret is in the names of the meds she's been taken. I hope you do your homework.**

 **So buckle up and get ready for The Conclusion of Separate Ways. I hope you like it.**


	13. The Return

**November 9th, 2031, 10:00am**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

 **The Beach House**

 **1 week before Steven's concert**

When consciousness came to Connie, she breathed a breath of relief as her dreams weren't filled with monsters and death. She had slept soundly without any nightmares and she hadn't been awoken by any more visions, and she felt like everything in the world was right.

Until she opened her eyes and found someone staring her right in the face, the person's long and pointy nose inches away from her own face.

"Hello Pearl. Sleep well?" Connie asked.

"You know I don't sleep Connie," Said Pearl, staring intently into Connie's eyes. "I was watching you sleep."

"Yeah, Steven told me you did that to him sometimes. And by sometimes I mean often," Connie said, repeating the words Pearl said to Steven all those years ago.

A light blue blush appeared over Pearl's cheeks. "Yes I did do that to him."

When Pearl made no attempt to move Connie decided to playfully make fun of her and said, "So if you gems are technically lesbians, are you here so I can kiss you?"

"Oh Connie!" Pearl cried out in mock disgust, getting up from the bed and walking away.

"You're infatuated with me Pearl, admit it!" Connie called out after her, laughing from Pearl's embarrassed look.

"Well you are irresponsible. Maybe I'll surrender myself to your advances on me," Pearl called back in a playful tone, causing Connie to laugh once more.

Since Connie had sat up she just decided to get up for the day and get dressed. After putting some clothes on she went down into the living room and saw that the Gems were sitting around the table playing a card game called Golf.

"Hey Connie, come play with us, " Said Amethyst, dealing Connie's hand in for her.

"Sure I'll play a few rounds," said Connie, coming over and sitting down next to Jasper and Garnet, who had refused a few days ago.

After a few minutes of playing the first round it seemed like it was down to Connie, Lapis and Peridot. Everyone else has at least 20 point showing. Connie had matched up 2 kings, 2 sevens and had one joker. She had one card left unturned.

Peridot had matched up 2 threes, 2 eights and had an ace. She also had one card left unturned.

Lapis had matched up 2 two's, 2 nines and had one king. Like Connie and Peridot she had one card left face down.

It was Peridot's turn and she drew a card. It was a two, so she went out with 3 and replaced her face down card for the 2 and immediately regretted it because the face down card was a joker card.

"Fuck!" She yelled at her misfortune, then looked at Lapis who had a huge grin on her face.

"Here you go, you lucky bastard," Peridot said in defeat, handing her the joker. Lapis went out and replaced her face down with the joker, the face down one being a Jack.

So it was up to Connie. Peridot had 3 and Lapis had -2. Connie drew a card and pulled an ace. She used that ace to replace the unturned card which was a 2. So she went out with -1.

"Well it looks like Lapis wins the round," announced Pearl, tallying up the score on a pad of paper. "Again."

For a few seconds Pearl marked up the final scores and read them aloud.

"Lapis, 32, Connie, 48. Garnet, 54, Amethyst 56, Jasper 73, Me, 79, and Peridot had 102. Lapis wins and Peridot loses."

"I had such a good lead, how did I lose?" Asked Peridot in dismay.

"Because Amethyst and Jasper me of giving you 10 points each round after the first two," Explained Garnet. "You never had a chance when they started double teaming you."

"Yeah, why did you guys do that to me?" Peridot asked them.

"At first it was because you were winning," Jasper said.

"Then it was funny watching you scream in frustration," Amethyst giggled.

Connie looked around the room at the Gems who were joking around and spending time with each other. Times like these were ones that Connie had lived for. Times when the Gems weren't arguing or fighting each other. Times when she wasn't mourning the loss of a soldier who had died fighting the Homeworld Gems at a funeral. This is what she missed the most from before the war. The War and everything that's happened since have forever changed Connie, and she wishes things could be like they were before things changed. Maybe if Homeworld hadn't invaded, half the people Connie knew would still be alive. Steven never would have left and by now Him and Connie would have been married and had a kid like Connie always wanted. Life would be perfect and nothing would have changed.

If only that were how things went.

Connie was torn from her thoughts when everyone put the deck of card up and got up from the table to do their various activities. She got up from the table and went over to make herself from food when Garnet pulled her over to the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

"Garnet what are you doing?" Asked Connie, startled by the fusion's sudden actions.

"Connie, what's wrong?" Garnet asked, gripping Connie's shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked, puzzled by her seemingly random question.

"Using my Future vision I see a multitude of possible futures where you either kill yourself, shatter one of us, or you get killed by one of the Breakout Squad. So if you don't tell me what's wrong with you right now something terrible is going to happen. So spill the beans."

Connie was completely taken aback by Garnet's sudden behavior. Sure Connie did have a multitude of issues internally, some the Gems knew about and some they didn't, but nothing that would put anybody's life in jeopardy. Connie could never harbor such emotional baggage of that scale. Could she?

"Garnet it's true I do have some problems I need to work out in life, but I assure you that I don't have problems that could have someone ending up dead. I don't have any lust for blood in my system or have any violent intentions towards anyone, so what do you want me to say?"

"Just spitball some of your problems to me, i might be able to pinpoint what the killing issues is," said Garnet.

"Well," Connie started. "I miss Steven unbearably on a few different levels, I miss Greg, I'm tired of not being able to sleep some nights, I feel like Steven might not come home, there's a lot of stuff wrong with me,"

"What do you mean when you say you miss Steven on a few different levels?" Garnet questioned.

"I miss my best friend, I miss the love of my life, I miss the savior of my planet. Steven is many different things to me,"

"Anything else?" Garnet pressed.

"Um, I'm tired of being a virgin I guess."

"How is that relevant at all Connie?"

"Because I'm saving myself for him," Connie explained, a red blush appearing on both of her cheeks. "I want my first time to be the one that impregnates me. You wouldn't understand, it's a human mother thing."

"Not something I needed to know but okay," said Garnet. "So you're sure you're okay? You're being honest to me and not lying, are you?"

"I already told you Garnet, I'm fine," Connie said reassuringly, giving her a convincing smile.

"Okay then. Sorry for doubting you," Garnet apologized.

"Don't sweat it, but thank you for looking out for me," said Connie.

Garnet opened the door and walked out of the bathroom but before Connie followed her out she said a quick prayer and hoped that none of her problems would lead to anyone's harm. Then she put on her new smile and left the bathroom.

Everyone was finally home now and no one was fighting so the Gems went on to door their everyday hobbies. At first it seemed like there was nothing to do because there were no hostile gems to take care of and there weren't any more corrupted Gem monsters to poor and bubble, so the Gems just found a bunch of random activities to do to pass the time. Jasper went into her training room built within the temple and had a long workout session by herself. Garnet went into her room to meditate alone in silence for a while. Amethyst and Peridot were watching TV in Connie's room. Pearl was tidying up the house and Lapis was just laying down on the couch listening to her rock music with her headphones. No one had even seen Soren in a while, so it was just Connie who had nothing to do. Connie thought for a while to figure out what she wanted to do when she got a great idea.

"Gems, gather round. I have something I want to do with you all," Connie said.

A few minutes later the all the Gems and Connie were gathered on the beach playing a very competitive game of badminton against each other. It was Amethyst, Peridot and Garnet against Connie, Pearl, Jasper and Lapis. The game was tied at 12/12, game point. Everyone was having a blast together and Connie had been enjoying having everyone home. This was something she really needed to have to calm her nerves from Garnet's strange vision. They were having fun and there were no arguments or disputes between anyone so it seemed to Connie that everything would turn out just fine.

Then Amethyst dropped her racket.

The birdie was coming towards her so without any hesitation Amethyst shapeshifted her hand into a racket and power slapped it high into the clouds, never to be seen again.

"Amethyst! I thought we established the fact that we couldn't use our powers to help your team win," Said Pearl.

"I had an excuse this time so please just let it slide this once Pearl? Please?" Amethyst mockingly begged her.

"No can do Amethyst. Now you've ruined the game and we'll have to start all over," Pearl replied in annoyance.

"What!? But we were so close to beating you Clods!" Peridot protested, throwing her racket on the ground.

"I didn't make the rules, these were the same rules Connie made up for us years ago," Said Pearl. "They haven't changed, so let's his restart the game."

"That's bull crap. Come on Pearl, don't be lame. Let's just finish this game and then we can start over," said Jasper in Peridot's defense.

"It's fine Pearl, we can restart," said Garnet.

"Well who made you supreme ruler of badminton?" Sneered Peridot.

"I just don't want you guys to fight over something as petty as badminton after how far we've all come because of Connie," Explained Garnet. "So everyone please just get along, for my sake and for Connie's sake."

"Ugh, fine!" Amethyst complained, running to the house to get another birdie.

"Thank you Garnet, that was getting out of hand," said Pearl.

"No problem," Garnet replied.

Connie was grateful Garnet stepped in because she was about to just quit the game and go brood in her room away from everyone. It also shocked her how easily the Gems could spark an argument. Connie would have to work out extra hard to make sure no more disputes occurred or she didn't know what she'd do. Plus Garnet's warning about someone dying hung over her mind like a cloud that wouldn't leave. Maybe something was bound do happen. Well it something was going to happen Connie vowed to delay it for as long as possible and try to have a good time while doing so.

Soon after that ordeal Amethyst found a birdie and the game resumed with no further arguments unless they were competitive. After Connie's team beat Amethyst's team 12/7 everyone went inside to watch one of Steven's Lonely Blade movies on his TV. Then Amethyst said it was a good idea to cook dinner together and have a huge Buffet of whatever everyone was in the mood for. Pearl thought that was a good idea and so Connie and the Gems spent the next hour making dinner together: homemade pizzas, nachos, spaghetti, jumbo salads, and burgers. After several failures dishes, hilarious blunders and a few hours later everything was almost done. The gems wanted to have some kind of with their meal, so Connie volunteered herself to go grab some donuts. Connie grabbed her wallet and walked out of the door.

While Connie was walking along the shore to the Big Donut she passed some of the tenements the New Gem Army lived, including one that housed the Breakout Squad. Aquamarine and her team were outside practicing with their weapons in friendly but competitive sparring matches. While Connie walked by they all said hi her her and then she waved back at them and asked if they wanted any donuts. The Breakout Squad said they would love that and Connie went on her merry way to pick up two boxes of the donuts for all the Gems.

When Connie finally got to The Big Donut she peered through the window and saw that no one was at the front desk yet the sign clearly said they were open. Afraid something had happened to the one employee working her now Connie carefully and slowly opened the door as to not ring the bell on the door, then stepped in and repeated the process until the door was closed again. Connie just stood there in the silent shop, straining to hear someone in back if there was. Then strangely to Connie's surprise she did hear something but couldn't make out what it was. Then after a few seconds of hearing the sound Connie finally placed her finger on what it was.

Crying. Faint albeit, but it was definitely crying.

Connie silently crept across the file floor and went past the counter to the back room and stuck her head into the opened doorway to see where the crying was coming from. The scene in front of her was one that was truly heartbreaking.

It was Lars who was crying. He was sitting on one of the storage boxes and quietly sobbing with his face in is hands.

Connie just stood there observing Lars while he wept. Long after the war started he had changed out of his ridiculous hairstyle and went with a nice and orderly comb over and for some reason he always wore his work uniform. He hardly ever wore anything else and he was never really out and about anymore, almost reclusive. Lars had rarely ever been seen out of work because all he did was work. It saddened Connie to see Lars in his current state so she slowly backed out of the doorway to try to leave but she knocked over a box and it made a loud thump as it hit the floor. Lars immediately shot his head up and locked eyes with Connie, who was staring at him with embarrassment.

"C-Connie!" He said in surprise, quickly wiping away his tears and straightening up. "I didn't hear you come in. What can I get you?"

"Oh! I came here to get some donuts for the Gems," said Connie. "Is this a bad time?"

"No way, not for Connie Maheswaren it isn't," Lars replied with a smile. He got up from the box he sat on and led Connie to the front of the shop and began loading donuts into 2 bags for her.

"So," said Lars. "All the Crystal Gems are finally back, huh?"

"Yep, just brought home Pearl a week or two ago and she was the last one. Now all we need to do is wait until Steven has his concert her in a week and bring him home, and we'll finally have the whole family back."

"That's great to hear," Lars responded, finishing up with the last of Connie's donuts. "It's great to have everyone back in town finally. Well here you go." He handed her the bags.

"Thanks Lars. I'll see you later."

Connie began walking towards the door and was about to open it but instead she stopped and turned back to Lars.

"Why were you crying?"

The question took Lars by surprise, but he answered with, "I think you and I both know why."

Connie hummed in agreement.

"You know, for over a decade now I've been thinking about Steven," he continued. "I thought it was pretty cool when I found out that he had healing tears. It gave us a great advantage against Homeworld's forces, the ability to heal gems even if they were shattered or corrupted, and being able to heal humans even if they were dead. It was amazing, it's why we were able to win. Yet for some reason Steven changed one day. He couldn't bring back the dead or heal human injuries anymore, and be couldn't heal gem shards anymore. It was as if he suddenly lost that power and was only able to heal cracked and injured gems, but nothing that was fatal. It was strange. Even before the war began, he healed his father's broken leg. He healed your eyes. At the start of the war he was able to heal anything and anyone." He looked at Connie, tears welling in his eyes which were filled with a mix of anger, sadness and emptiness. "So how come he was wasn't able to save her?"

"I wish I knew Lars. I really do," she replied with a heavy heart.

"Huh, you can't give me an answer either. Figures. I guess it's payback for how wrong I treated him as a kid. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth as they say, I guess,"

When he didn't say anything else Connie opened the door when he said one more thing.

"Do you think she'd love me if she were here?" He called out.

Connie stopped herself and pondered on his question for a minute or so before

"I have no doubt in my mind that Sadie would love you if she were here." Then Connie left the Big Donut, leaving a broken Lars alone with his thoughts.

After Connie gave Aquamarine and her squad their donuts she made her way back to the house and went up the stairs when she heard someone land behind her. When she turned around she was shocked to find Soren standing before her.

"Where have you been?" She asked, a little agitated by his absence.

"Doesn't matter," he simply replied with. "What does is that you don't want to go in there right now. Especially since you don't have your meds with you."

Ignoring Soren's warning she went inside only to find a disaster in the house.

Dishes her shattered and thrown everywhere. All the food the Gems had been strewn about all around the floor and walls, and furniture had been destroyed. The Gems were all fighting each other, literally. Everyone had their weapons summoned and they were dueling with each other in the kitchen and the living room, destroying things by accident during the fights.

Connie just watched as everyone fought each other. She couldn't believe that after all she had done for them, after how far they'd come, this was actually happening. We had to punish them. They needed to know that she was beyond pissed at them for doing this.

And she knew exactly what she was going to do.

"Everyone!" She shouted.

The Gems froze when they heard her voice, shock that she had been watching them.

 **"Everyone. Outside. Now,"** She ordered.

The Gems, Soren and Connie all gathered on the Sandy beach outside the house. The gems stood there, afraid of what Connie might say to them. Soren was afraid of what Connie might do. Connie knew exactly what she was going to do.

"So after how far we've come you still can't settle your disputes? Are you kidding me?"

None of the Gems responded. They all had looks of guilt on their faces.

Then Connie continued. "Then if you can't put aside your differences and instead want to fight, then fine. You're going to get a fight."

Connie's necklace began to glow, but this time it was each and every gem on the necklace that glowed instead of just one. Then she did something that no one, not even Garnet or Soren could see coming.

A giant hand began to form out of the water from the sea. The hand became larger and towered over the entire temple and formed a fist. Meanwhile back on the ground Connie formed Steven's shield, Garnet's gauntlets and Pearl's spear and got into her fighting stsnce, ready for battle.

All the Gems could do was stare at Connie in both horror and disbelief at the feat she just achieved.

"What you Gems never knew," Connie said through gritted teeth," is that with this necklace, I have all of your powers and all of Steven's powers as well. What's even better is that no matter what i do to you all, whether I just poof you, crack your gems or shatter you I won't regret it, as long as I never take my meds. Hey Lapis, take that thing out of your pocket and show it to the others, it'll explain everything."

The Gems turned to Lapis, who at first had a look of false accusation. Then the gears finally started to turn and she reached into her pocket before taking out the most trivial thing the Gems could've imagined: An empty bottle of **Brexpiprazole.**

"It's her bottle of prescription," Jasper observed. "So what?"

"It means she's gone off the rails and we need to take her down," said Peridot.

"Ah come on, guys," Connie said in annoyance. "What sickness does that treat? Think about it, panic attacks, visions, a disconnection from reality, nightmares, so what is it? I can definitely assure you it isn't just Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, so tell me what it is."

The Gems began making out loud guesses at whatever Connie had, then Lapis stepped forward and spoke the first words she's said since she arrived home.

"We've been blind this whole time. Her mental state is much more worse than we could've ever imagined," she said. "I knew from the minute I saw the label on your bottle that something like this would happen. She's broken, lost, and she's been overcome by depression and sadness so she never got help. And now we're suffering the consequences."

"What are you saying Lapis?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, just tell us what's wrong with her," added Amethyst.

Lapis took a deep but very shaky breath before answering. "The reason Connie has been acting so crazy like she has been before and why she's acting like it know is because..."

"Just tell us!" Shouted Garnet, summoning her gauntlets.

 **"Connie has schizophrenia."**

 **"Ding ding ding ding ding!"** Connie said maniacally. "And now, it's time to die Gems. Goodbye!"

The water fist raised up and was about to come down on the Gems who braced for impact when they saw something strange happen, but it saved their lives.

There was a flash of pink from inside the house that got everyone's attention, even Connie's. She turned to look, and then there was a flash from the house that led to the Beach and there was an explosion of sorts, the kind that sent dust and sand everywhere and obscuring the scene from the Gems. It was Connie and whatever made that flash of light fighting in the most but the Gems couldn't see, they could only listen as the battle progressed.

"What? Impossible! This can't happen, not to me! This is unbelievable, I-" then there was an exchange of swords, a Earth shattering bang, and Connie's terrible screams of pain before cutting out. It was easy to tell she had been knocked unconscious, but by who was the question in all the Gem's minds. Then the dust began to settle, and the figure standing before then shocked each and every one of them to their cores.

Connie lay on the ground with a big knot on her head, bruised and bloodied but otherwise fine. The figure standing above her was who has chided such reactions from the gems.

She was very tall, easily taller then all of them. Her long pink hair and her beautiful lilac strapless dress was in a star where her gem was, on her belly. She had black eyes, gorgeous defined lips and was barefoot. And everyone immediately knew who she was.

"So what did I miss?" Asked Rose Quartz.

 **Boom! Schizophrenia! Who saw that coming? But it makes sense though, Schizophrenia is a bitch to deal with, which is why Connie was kind of out of character the whole story. She has a short temper, horrible nightmares, visions and major depression issues. But oh well just like Frank Sinatra said, That's Life!**

 **Anyway, next chapter is the last chapter. The ending. The Conclusion. No more Separate Ways. Forever.**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter, as always be sure to follow, fav and review, and just listen to me for a sec. Thank each and every one of you reading this for being so supportive of me during this story. I look forward to making more stories for you guys in the future, and you guys have been an amazing audience. Thank you all.**

 **Okay everyone I'm out, see you in the last one. Peace to you all.**


	14. Coming Home

**So this is it, the last chapter of Separate Ways. I made sure to make this chapter extra long as one final goodbye to my first long winded chapter story. Now before I let you read on I want to tell you something.**

 **This story wasn't about the war ending, having everyone who died resurrected, or even about Steven returning. It was about how the war affected everybody years after it ended. War can do many things to someone, and none of them are good. No matter how this story ends, all the Gems and human who fought in the war are forever scarred for either their mortal human lives, or immortal gem lives. Nothing can reverse the results or take all of the pain away, but there are things that can make you forget about it for a while. Even if it's a few seconds of forgetting the pain, it's still the closest thing to going back to normal. Unfortunately that's not how life works, so they have to live with it and hope that the pain doesn't consume them like it does to some.**

 **Anyways that's all, enjoy the story and I hope you guys like it.**

* * *

 **2:40pm, 2031, 6 Days before Steven's concert**

 **Beach City, Delmarva**

 **The Beach House**

It had been one day since Rose had been back. Of course the Gems completely lost it when Rose made herself known, as expected. Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst did nothing but hug and kiss her and cry because their leader and best friend of all time was alive again. At first the former Homeworld Gems were a bit nervous because they thought Rose Quartz would attack them or make them leave because they weren't Crystal Gems, but she did quite the opposite.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," she said reassuringly. "I've been watching through Steven's eyes for as long as he's been alive. I know who all of you are and you are already part of the family. It's nice to finally meet you."

After the tearful reunion and the formalities were finished the Gems brought an unconscious Connie into the house and cared for her. Rose used her tears to heal up all of Connie's physical wounds and the Gems cleaned up the house from their fight from earlier. Then they decided to make Connie's favorite spaghetti meal so they could make it up to Connie for not getting along and making a mess of things.

While the Gems were busy Soren was with Rose in Connie's room where Connie was laid on her bed.

"General Soren, it's been an honor to meet you," said Rose.

"Likewise for you, Rose," he said with a smile. "Now that you've been reborn as, what to do plan on doing next?"

Rose thought for a minute before answering. "The first thing I need to do is talk to each of the Gems in private. There's a lot each of us need to discuss. Then after that I definitely plan to see my son at his concert."

"You know that because you've been watching through his eyes, correct?"

"Yes I have, that's why I need to talk with the Gems first. Even before you joined the Crystal Gems they've had their own...struggles to say the least. I'm not angry with any of them, but they need my guidance again. They've gone so long without a leader in their lives that they've lost their way. When Steven was born and I retreated to my gem, they were destroyed. That's why Steven lived with Greg for his younger years. I wanted the Gems to mature and accept the fact that I was gone so they could let Steven into their hearts, and it work. Eventually. But there's still much to discuss. And since Steven took out his gem, there's a lot I don't know yet. I need to play catch up so I know everything that's happened while I was gone."

"That sounds like a good plan," Soren agreed.

They sat there for a few minutes in silence, the only noise were the Gems making dinner and Connie's steady breathing. Then Rose spoke.

"You know it's funny," she said. "I was always able to heal things like cuts and wounds, but I was never able to heal the mind. Steven was able to heal physical injuries like me, but he actually healed Corrupted Gems. I never learned how to do that. Maybe he mastered his powers better than I did. No wonder he was able to lead humanoid to victory in the war. I'm proud of him. I really am. I just hope I get to tell him that someday."

"You will, I'll see to it that you see him at his concert," said Soren. "But if you want to talk to the Gems, you should do it soon. I don't know how this ordeal with Connie going psycho and you coming back is affecting them. And I don't know how well Connie's mental state is at the moment."

* * *

 **Inside Connie's subconscious...**

Connie was having the time of her life in her dream. And she never wanted to wake up.

She was sword fighting with Steven as a young girl, their attacks getting more advanced and lethal by the minute. Her and Steven were having a blast in the Sky Arena where Connie used to train with Pearl.

But Pearl was no more.

While the two young kids danced with their blades they were kicking up dust, but not from the ruins of the arena. It was the shards of the shattered Crystal Gems that lay beneath their feet. It had been done, Connie had killed all of the Crystal Gems. She killed them all for Steven. Now they could finally be together without the Gems fighting each other and pushing Steven away from Connie again. They would be together forever.

Connie couldn't be happier being with Steven. Yet, there was a voice at the back of her mind that was saying this was a crazy dream, a nightmare. It said that this isn't a world she wants to live in, and the more it said that the more Connie believed it. She had to stop.

"Steven, this is wrong."

"What do you mean Connie? This is what we've always wanted, right?" Steven said with a smile.

"No, this isn't what I want Steven. I want a family that will always be together and never apart. I want a sea of friends that will always hold me up high and never be divided. I want you home with the Gems and never leave us again. I love the Gems Steven, and I love you too, but I can't have one without the other. It would be cruel to chose you over the Gems or vice versa after all we've been through together. I love all of you. You've all become the greatest family I ever could've asked for. So please end this dream, this fantasy, and come have me to us."

Steven stopped using his sword and his expression immediately changed from one of happiness to one of anger. This puzzled Connie and she began to get a little nervous from his sudden change in demeanor.

"I thought you loved me Connie," he said coldly. "I thought you wanted me home."

"I do Steven, I miss you so badly it hurts, but I don't want just one part of my family. I want my whole family, all of it in it's entirety. I hope you can understand," said Connie.

Steven didn't say another word. Instead he positioned his sword over her heart and plunged it deep within her chest.

Connie gasped as she felt the icy cold blade within her body, a feeling she'd been familiar with from previous nightmares. She fell to her knees and blood flowed out from both the wound in her chest and her gaping open mouth. Her vision was fading into black and she was losing consciousness, but she managed to see one more thing before she died.

"Excellent work son," Said Greg Universe, patting his smiling son on his back. "We've finally taken care of that pest. I'm proud of you Stu-ball."

* * *

 **Meanwhile, back in reality...**

Soren had to leave again for some strange reason, leaving Rose alone with the gems after they made dinner. Rose knew she had to talk with each of the Gems alone so she could clear up some issues, get some things off her chest, and shed some light on some of her secrets. After thinking for a while she decided Pearl was the first one she needed to talk to.

"Everyone, I need you to listen to me for a minute," Rose announced, capturing the attention of all the Gems. "I need to talk to each of you in private over the next few days so I can say some things that need to be said. The first one of you I must speak with is Pearl, the rest I need you all to leave for a while. Go and wait in your room, and wait until Connie wakes up."

The Gems all understood Rose's intentions, so they went into their rooms in the temple and Pearl hung back with Rose in the living room. She seemed nervous and filled with anxiety, rubbing her arm and looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact.

"Pearl," Rose began. "The first thing I want to say to you is that I am deeply sorry for leaving you, Garnet and Amethyst behind. I wanted a son so badly that I pursued my own selfish interests instead of thinking about how leaving you would affect you. I knew that it wouldn't be easy for you all, but I never thought it would be this bad. I am so, so sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

"Rose, you were never at fault for doing what you did," Pearl said. "We all understood that you wanted to have Steven so very badly and the length you took to make sure he got to live. I forgive you for Doug what you did. I could never stay mad at you Rose, not in a million years." She gave her a weak smile to prove her words were genuine and from the heart.

"I don't deserve you Pearl. You're amazing in every way." Rose took a deep breath before continuing. "Which is why this next part is so hard for me to say. While I was in my gem I saw and heard everything Steven experienced. I've been watching you when you never knew it. I know everything. And I want to say that you've been raising Steven in the best way possible. I've seen you struggle with raising him and I understand that, but I've also seen you rise above all of it. You bonded and became friends with Greg. You taught my son the wonders of his gem heritage while training him to defend himself and his family. You've been such an excellent role model for my son. Thank you Pearl, you don't know my appreciation for raising Steven. And there was a night when you wondered what I would think of you now." Rose took Pearl's hands in her own and looked down into Pearl's eyes. Pearl had a light blue blush appearing over her cheeks. "I think you're the greatest friend anyone could ever ask for. And it pains me to see that my relationship with Greg was hurting you. I'm so sorry that I never pursued a relationship with you, I never knew the extent of your feelings towards me. You and I both known that I've done some questionable things in the past so I believed your image of me had been tainted.

"You know, for the longest time I hated Greg for stealing you away from me," said Pearl. "But then I realized that if you hadn't fallen in love with him, my little Steven wouldn't exist. I'm happy you chose Greg, I really am. I'm just so guilty that I haven't been friends with him for long before he died in the war. I was just so jealous of your affection that I wanted him to just leave and never come back, and now that he really is gone I want nothing more than for him to be here now since you're back. I'm not jealous of him anymore though, and I'm happy that I can have both the loves of my life with me now; you and Steven."

Pearl and Rose embraced each other in a warm hug that the two of them had been wanting to have for decades. In that moment it took all the guilt away from Rose and for Pearl it made her break down into tears, which in turn made Rose start to cry as well.

"I love you Pearl," Rose sobbed.

"I love you too, Rose," Pearl cried.

They broke away from their hug and wiped the tears out of their eyes.

"So now that that's been said, how have you been during this last decade without Steven?" Rose asked.

"Not much really," said Pearl. "But shortly after leaving I became infected with the Darkness."

"What!?" Exclaimed Rose. "Oh my goodness are you okay? How bad is it? Tell me, I can heal you."

"No no no, Rose don't worry," Pearl said. "Connie helped heal me after I kind of went off the rails a bit. After Connie brought me home from a mental institution I was at, the Darkness got worse and I began uncontrollably creating Holo-Pearls that attack everyone. Luckily the Gems were able to survive the attack with a little help from some of the Gems who live in those tenements on the Beach. They call themselves the Breakout Squad."

"Ah yes, I remember them," said Rose, looking back to her memories of them inn the first war for Earth. Then she frowned and said, "I thought they became corrupted and they were in a bubble."

"They were, but Steven healed all of the Gems that were bubbled in the Burning Room. That's why we were able to fight back against Homeworld in the second war, we had tens of thousands of new soldiers ready to fight once again. I know you've seen what he's done through his eyes, but he was incredible. We was an amazing fighter and an even better leader. He would've made yor proud."

Rose looked up at the portrait of her that hung above the doorway, then noticed a smaller portrait of Steven as a young boy right next to hers. He was smiling and he had stars in his eyes, and Rose smiled.

"He already has."

* * *

 **Meanwhile at the Big Donut...**

Lars was still sitting in the break room watching videos of Sadie Miller when he heard the door open and the bell ring. He quickly turned the TV off, wiped away his tears and when back to the counter to serve the customer.

"Welcome to the Big Donut, may I take your order?" Lars asked the customer. The customer was a young man in his late twenties, with black eyes and long brown hair that easily went down to his knees. He wore a black leather jacket and regular jeans, and on his feet he wore blue sandals. Despite the heavy clothes he was wearing and the fact that it was always hot in Beach City, the man didn't have a single drop of seat on him, and he looked like he was perfectly comfortable.

"Hello Laremy," the man said with a smile.

Lars was puzzled by this stranger knowing his name. "How do you you know me?"

The man didn't answer. He simply just put his hand to Lars' chest and kept it there.

Lars suddenly felt very uncomfortable and was about to push his hand away when he remembered something. The gesture the man was making had been done to Lars by only one other person he had known. Then Lars took a good long look at the man before gasping.

"Steven? Is that really you?" Lars asked in disbelief.

The man took his hand back and did a slight bow. "The one and only."

"Oh my god, look at you! You've grown so much and I have to say, I'm a bit jealous of how good-looking you are man," Lars said with a smile.

"Thanks Lars, you're looking good too."

"So what brings you back to Beach City? I hope you're finally coming home to us," said Lars.

"Yes I plan on returning to the city, but I'm also here because I'm having a concert here on the beach in a few days. I was wondering if you could help set up a stage and things like that when my tech guys get here. I need your help setting everything up and getting other people in the city to help out too. Can you do that for me bud?"

"Oh absolutely! Anything for you Steven," Lars replied, eager to help out the savior of Earth.

"Thanks Lars, that really means a lot to me," Said Steven. "Now that's been said, I have some more...personal things you and I need to discuss."

Lars immediately gulped when Steven said that.

"Now in the past when I was younger I recall that you weren't definitely not the greatest person in the world to everyone. To no one, in fact. I never did harbor any negative feelings towards you at all, but I'm sure other people did. You were a jerk to me as well, and it hurt because I tried so hard to be friends with you for all those years. So when I left, I felt like I failed you. I'm sorry Lars, can you forgive me?"

"Steven you were never the problem, it was always me," Lars responded. "I was a jerk to everyone in my life. Even to the love of my life. Now after all these years I feel like I haven't suffered enough consequences for my behavior. I should be the one asking you for forgiveness."

You know Lars, while I was gone one of the problems plaguing my mind was that I had lost the ability to heal people. I know you are aware of that."

"Yes, I most certainly am," Lars said sadly.

"Close your eyes for me Lars," Steven instructed. "I need to show you something."

Thinking that Steven's behavior was kind of strange, Lars closed his eyes for him. He could hear Steven leave the shop for a second, then come back a moment later and stood in front of him.

"Open your eyes Lars," he did what he was told, and got the shock of his life.

She was older, not any older than Lars himself, but older than the last time he saw her. She was well aged and beautiful even after all these years. And she was alive.

"Sadie..."

* * *

 **Back at the Beach House...**

It was Garnet's turn to have her one on one talk with Rose, so Pearl left to get her and bring her in before Pearl went into her own room.

"Garnet," Rose started. "Oh my gosh Garnet, you've been an incredible leader while I was gone. You do know that right?"

"I'm not anything special, I was just following your example and doing the best I can with what I was given," Garnet said. "I was trying to make you proud."

"And you certainly did what with how you reacted to every and any situation that arose. You always kept things under Control given the circumstances, you've helped accomplish many things and you have been an excellent guardian to Steven for all these years."

Garnet frowned. "That's where you're wrong."

Rose was taken aback by Garnet's words. "What ever do you mean?"

"I was never good enough for him Rose, never," she continued. "For most of his younger years I resented him just for existing, and for taking you away from us. I never wanted anything to do with him and I thought that's how it was going to be for the rest of his life. But all that changed one day. He was starting to talk and he had learned a bunch of different words and phrases, even I was impressed. One day Steven really wanted a Cookie Cat but he didn't have any money. He started to cry and I wanted to help him out so he would stop crying. I went and bought him a bunch of Cookie Cats for him and given them to him. When he found out what I had did for him he ran over and gave me the biggest hug he could muster with his tiny hands. Then he looked up at me and said "I love you Garnet, you're the best," It was that point when I fell in love with him and understood why you wanted to have him born. Since thin my love has only grown for him and to this day he's my greatest inspiration to be the absolute best I can be."

"You have become the great leader Steven and I knew you could be," Rose said with a smile.

"No I'm not." I couldn't protect him during the war. It did something to him that cannot be fixed. He's broken and that's why he left. How could I just let out baby go like that without any kind of resistance? He's hurting inside and I can't save him. I've failed him Rose, and I've failed you. And he actually believes we'd rather want you over him. He actually thinks he was just a burden, a cruel reminder that you were gone. How could I not foresee this happening? I couldn't see it and I couldn't stop it, so how could you say that I'm a good leader? How is that even fair?"

"Garnet, the reasons why he left were nothing any of you could help him with or comprehend. You have to understand that he isn't just a gem or a human, he something entirely new," Rose explained. "He's his own species, so how can he associate himself into one species if he belongs to neither of them? It's all very conflicting for him, so he needed this time to have a journey for himself to truly discover who he is, and that's just putting it lightly. I will explain why he did what he had to when I have all of you in the room. I must finish up with the other gems first. But please, please understand that you did the best you could do and you helped raise my son in the best way possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do Rose," Garnet said. "But I really miss him."

"Don't worry Garnet, I promise that you'll see him soon. It doesn't take future vision to see that no matter what happens when we see him, it's all going to work out, I promise."

* * *

 **Somewhere on the boardwalk...**

Buck Dewey was taking a nice stroll down the boardwalk on his way to go help set up things for Steven's concert. He had heard new spreading that Steven would need help setting up his stage and his tech from Lars, who had miraculously been reunited with Sadie Miller, his crush who had died in the war. At the time Steven lost the ability to heal humans, so while he was gone he had somehow learned to heal humans once again. Lars was really happy and had been spending the whole day with Sadie before they had to help prep the boardwalk for the concert. Buck had been amazed at Sadie's resurrection, and he wanted to help prepare.

While he was walking be heard someone running towards him from behind. Buck turned around and had someone shove a wet hand onto the eye socket where the patch was.

"Whoa dude, what are you doing!?" Buck said, pushing the person off of him. Before Buck could get a good look of the guy he ripped off the eye patch and ran away as fast as he could.

"You're welcome!" The man yelled back before disappearing between some of the restaurants nearby.

Buck was enraged by the stranger's assault and went down to grab for his patch when suddenly, he could seen as if he had two eyes.

He stopped himself and blinked one eye. Then tried the other, the one that has been lost.

It blinked too. And he could see.

He ran over to one of the restaurants and looked at himself in the window before letting out a shocked gasp.

He had both of his eyes again.

"Wait a minute, could that man have been...Steven?" He asked himself.

* * *

 **Back at the Beach House...**

"Amethyst, come here," said Rose.

The purple gem nervously shuffled forward and stood there without looking up, instead looking at the floor.

"Pleas look at me Amethyst."

Reluctantly she did as she was told. Tears were already welling up in her eyes. She looked like a child who knew they were about to be punished.

"Tell me what's wrong with you."

Those were the words Amethyst was expecting to hear, but she didn't think they would hurt so bad. She immediately burst into tears and cried while she talked.

"I'm so sorry Rose! I know I was a bad role model, and I would always argue with the Gems, and I treated Greg like garbage, and I know I was never strong enough to protect my family or admit i was ever wrong, and that I was a drug addict, but please forgive me! I promise that I can be better for you! I've been clean for a few months now, and since Steven's coming home I can be better for him. I promise Rose, I'll do better, I'll-"

"Amethyst," Rose interrupted. " I meant why were you so bent on being something you're not? You keep trying to be perfect for everyone else and trying to be strong and tough like Jasper is. You think you were made a mistake and defective, but you're not. You're Amethyst, our Amethyst. There isn't anyone else like you, so stop trying to be perfect by everyone else's standards. Please be yourself and no one else. I love you just how you are. When you love someone and care very deep about them, you love every part of that person, even their flaws. I personally am happy that you are small, because it's easier to hug you and it's easy for you to shapeshift. When you shapeshift and do silly things that make people laugh, you don't feel ashamed of who you are. You make people happy when you do that, and that's the real you. You brighten people's lives by just being you. That's a power nobody can take away from you. I don't love perfect soldiers or defective gems. I love you, because you are you and no one else. It is a fact that you are a defect, no matter what anyone says. But I didn't care before I gave up my form for Steven, I didn't when I was stuck inside my gem for years, and I certainly don't care now. Never be anyone else but yourself, do you understand Amethyst?"

"Y-yes I do Rose," Amethyst sniffed. "But what about Steven? I wasn't good enough for him. I always took out my anger on him, and-"

"And he accepted it with open arms because he knew you would feel better. He understood your issues with yourself, and he would rather have you lash out at him than the other gems. He hated seeing you all fight, so he felt good knowing that you would feel better and there would be no fighting between you and the gems."

"So he never felt bad and I never hurt his feelings?" She asked.

"I never said that," Rose answered. "You hurt him pretty bad, but the feelings you made him feel were just more things he was keeping inside. He's pretty good at hiding his emotions behind that bubbly and sweet personality of his."

"So I am a horrible person," Amethyst said in dismay. "It was a mistake pulling me out of the Kindergarten. You should've left me there to rot."

After she said that Rose did something she'd never done I'm her life to any of the raised her hand and slapped Amethyst in her cheek.

"Ow!" Amethyst cried, resulting in more tears from her.

"Don't. You. **Ever.** Say that again," Rose said sternly. "You are not some substandard relic of history forever trapped in the Kindergarten. You are our Amethyst, _my_ Amethyst. You are beautiful in every single way, and I love you for who you are. You are perfect just the way you are. Don't ever stop believing that."

Amethyst nodded as if she understood what she was saying, rubbing her cheek and wiping be tears.

"I love you Rose," she said, giving her a super tight bear hug.

Rose returned the buy back with her own. "I love you too Amethyst."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Soren hovered above the boardwalk where he saw more and more of the townspeople gathering things for Steven's concert. While he watched he made texts and calls with his gem communicator to other people and gems in the area to help out as well in preparation for the Big show. Soren wanted everything perfect more than anyone because he really wanted the show to be amazing for Connie and the Originals because their family will soon be complete. Everything would be back to normal in a few days.

Soren's communicator buzzed, signifying a new message. He read the message.

 **How is everything going? Is everything going according to schedule?**

Soren responded to the message. **Yes. More people are showing up by the minute to help out on the boardwalk. This will be a great show.**

 **Excellent. Await until further orders, and if you need me I'm at the cemetery.**

 **Understood, Soren out.**

* * *

 **Back at the house...**

"When you first arrived to Earth, I thought eventually we'd have to poof and bubble you until you were thoroughly interrogated," said Rose. "I never thought you'd become a Crystal Gem."

"You'd be surprised at how often people say that to me," said Peridot.

"Well think about it. After thousands of years of being isolated from Homeworld we suddenly have a Homeworld gem come to Earth to try and fix the Galaxy Warp. It seems rational that you'd be the bringer of our downfall. To be honest I thought there'd be another war soon after you arrived."

"No, my only reason for coming here was to check on the Cluster that was incubated here right before Homeworld fled the failed Earth colony," Peridot explained. "At the time I had no idea about the Rebellion or the Crystal Gems. Homeworld is very good at covering up failure."

"Indeed they are," Rose agreed. "So let me ask you, how has life with the Crystal Gems been?"

I've had my fair share of stress and turmoil, but overall it's been absolutely amazing," she replied. "I've actually been able to live life how I want to here, I'm free. I've discovered so much about myself and my family, and I can be whoever and whatever I want to without having to impress someone or feel threatened if I mess up. In the time I've been here I feel like I am Peridot, _the_ Peridot. I feel unique, like I'm not just another copy of a copy of a copy. This planet is one that I can finally call home. This is now my Homeworld, and if anyone tried to take it from be will face the wrath of The Crystal Gems. This place and this family is mine now. I'd do anything to make sure they stay safe."

"That's very admirable of you Peridot," said Rose. "Thank you for becoming part of my family. You and I will get along just fine,"

"I'd hope so, I've heard you can be pretty terrifying when you need to be," Peridot joked.

Rose chuckled. "Yes, I've been told that from many people as well. Don't worry, we shouldn't have any problems together,"

"What about Lapis and Jasper?" Peridot asked.

"I don't know yet. I have the smallest of ideas for talking to Lazuli, but Jasper's a completely different story. She became corrupted and she was the hardest for Steven to redeem. It makes mess though, I shattered her Diamond during the Rebellion. We'll just have to see what happens."

"I hope she understands that you had your reasons for doing what you did during the war," Peridot said.

Rose hummed in agreement.

"Thanks for talking to me Rose Quartz, you really are as great as the Gems said you were."

"No, I'm not that great," Rose simply stated. "I'm just someone trying to fix their family and make amends for my previous actions. I really hope she forgives me."

" I know Jasper has been...difficult, in the past," said Peridot. "But I will say this. After Steven healed her, she became part of this family. It took some time like it did with me but eventually she came around. And between you and me, she changed when she fought for Earth in the Second War. That was a critical point for her, because she finally saw why Earth was worth protecting. I don't know what it was for her, but whatever it was it helped her redeem herself. I never asked her what it was, but I think you should. She might tell you why she stayed and fought for Earth."

"Thank you for telling me that Peridot. With Jasper, I need all the help I can get talking to her and explaining myself," said Rose.

"You're welcome," Peridot replied with a smile.

* * *

 **Inside Connie's subconscious...**

Connie had been finding herself in many different dreams while she was asleep on her bed. This time she found herself in a dream where she was in the arena as Stevonnie fighting an army of Holo-Pearls with ease, while a crowd of people in the bleachers cheered her on like she was in a gladiator fight. Occasionally Stevonnie would glance over at the crowd to see who was watching, and eventually after enough glancing she realized that the crowd were people who she knew that died in the war, and those who had died were with their living family members. The people who had died were easy distinguished because they look like how they did when they died. Some had gaping holes in their bodies where they were shot by laser firearms, while others had melee weapons embedded into their bodies if they were killed my a gem's naturally summoned weapon. It was both weird and horrifying to see people she recognized have spears lodged into their chests or battleaxes sliced through their heads and stuck in their necks. Nonetheless, Stevonnie stayed calm and focused on sparring with the Holo-Pearls who never seemed to keep spawning.

As the fight progressed something strange started happening to Stevonnie. She began to hallucinate. The Holo-Pearls that fought her began to change and take different forms. They slowly morphed into Homeworld Gems that Steven and Connie faced in battle. Instead of holograms Stevonnie slashed through Quartz soldiers and chopped up Rubies. She sliced up Nephrites and cut down Amethysts. While all this was happening, Starting started hearing the voices of allies who had fallen during the war that Steven either couldn't heal or weren't able to save them in time.

"Keep your head up Connie, you can't fight a battle outside if you're battling yourself on the inside."

"Steven will lead us to victory, he hasn't failed us yet."

"Connie, you've been the best friend I could ever-" CRUNCH!

The hallucinations got worse. Soon Stevonnie was fighting their allies who had died, the ones who were speaking to her inside her head.

And the worse part for Steven is that she wasn't sure who it was coming from, Steven or Connie.

* * *

 **Meanwhile in the Beach House...**

"What are views on me? Am I someone who betrayed Homeworld, an inspirational figure, or just someone that was part of the gems' family?" Rose asked.

"Well for the longest time I didn't know you existed until I met the Crystal Gems, so I just think of you as their leader, and Steven's mother," Lapis answered.

"So you don't think I'm just some traitor who started a rebellion to protect some measly planet?"

"I did know there was a rebellion, but I thought it would be crushed within a few months at best. But I have to say I'm impressed that you won."

"Well let me say this then. How is your relationship with the Gems?"

Lapis shrugged. "No different than any other family. We love each other to death, we fight, we make up, and in the end everything works out until we fight again. Then it continues in that cycle. We all have our differences, but even after all these years I knew we'd end up back together, even without Sapphire's future vision,"

"What do you mean by that? Rose questioned.

"While we were split Garnet had unfused, so Sapphire and I kept in touch. Then we saw each other in person and we saw each other more and more. Then one day we fused and formed Aqua Cobalt. We shared each other's powers, which means I had future vision while we were fused, and I saw what Sapphire saw. It was a very small possibility, but I had hope. Unfortunately when we came back we found out that Ruby and Jasper fused as well, forming Carnelian Quartz. That made Sapphire and I unfuse and she began fighting with Ruby. After some...things that happened, they made up and become Garnet again."

"Oooh, two new fusions I get to meet," Rose said excitedly.

"Probably not," Lapis said. "Now that Garnet's back together, I think Cobalt and Carnelian are decommissioned for a while."

"Does that bother you?" Rose asked.

"No, but it felt good bit being fuse with someone you don't have to constantly battle under the sea," Lapis joked.

" I can imagine. So how do you feel about Steven?"

"He pulled me out of many dark places in my life since I was released from that mirror," she responded. "I will be eternally grateful for that. I love him, simple as that."

"Yeah, my son has that affect on people," Rose said. "Now on a different topic, why is your style not talking?"

"Well I'm sure that's done, but it's because I was always afraid that if I he talking, I would start talking about all my problems and I'd start crying. As you can tell I'm a bit of an emo, if that's what you call it."

"I can understand that, but why not talk to someone about it? You had Sapphire to talk to."

"I did sometimes by never for long if it was personal. And I realized something during the war. Everyone has problems, some more than others. I don't have the worst problems in the world, so I just bottle them up inside until I get over them. Not the healthiest of ways, but it got me this far."

"What about Steven? Did you ever share things with him?

"Yes, for the longest time I only trusted him. I was still angry at the Crystal Gems for leaving men in that mirror, and at Peridot for forcing me to come back to Earth. He was the only one I could trust, and he understood me. He never gave up on me, he loved me, and he made me feel special. I thought at first he just had a huge crush on me for a while, but at the same time he told me once that he loved Connie. That's when I knew he loved me in a different way. He taught me about family, and I am proud to say that I am part of his family. I am a Crystal Gem, and I will always fight for Earth, for my family, and for my home."

"I am so happy that you've become one of us Lapis," Rose said happily. "Oh, and can you keep a secret?"

"Yes I can Rose," Lapis said with a huge smile.

"Steven didn't know it but he has always loved Connie, but it was only in his subconscious. Since he didn't know he loved Connie, he actually did have a crush on you, the biggest crush I've ever seen. I could hear his thoughts too, so I knew all of this. I can tell you something else about Steven. The night that Alexandrite saved you from being Malachite and taking you to the barn, the night you left again, he wanted so badly to kiss you. It took every ounce of his willpower not to run over and plant a big kiss on your lips before running away. He didn't because he was sad you were leaving. It seemed to him that whenever he was around you left him. It saddened him so much because even if you didn't love him like that, he still wanted to be your friend. Eventually he believed you wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. And that night in the barn? He thought he'd never seen you again. So he was really when you came back and flew around with him trying to find a place to live. Not only was he happy that you were staying on Earth, he kind of considered that as a date. He was really head over heels for you."

A deep blue blush appeared over Lapis' face. "I had no idea. If he had said something before, I might've accepted his love. But even with that knowledge, I'm not jealous at all, and I was actually hoping he'd go after Connie. They were so nice towards each other."

"Oh yes, everyone knew they'd be together. Even I could see them getting together." Rose said with a smile.

Lapis laughed. "I can't believe we're gossiping about your son."

"Well I've never gotten the chance to really talk to anyone about my son yet. It's been fun talking to about Steven. This conversation was a lot more lighthearted than I thought it would be."

"Same here, I was actually a bit intimidated by you," said Lapis.

"Well thank goodness for that turning out alright. I like you Lapis."

"I like you too Rose. Now I understand why the Gems adore you so much."

* * *

 **At Fish Stew Pizza...**

Today had been a slow day for Kiki and Jenny at the restaurant. There weren't many customers on weekdays anymore, and their best customer Steven has been gone for so long. But for Jenny and Kiki, they were pretty excited for Steven's return. Jenny hadn't been to a music concert since before the war, and Kiki had never been to one at all. The girls actually didn't have a lot of time separated from each other, especially since their father Kofe died at the battle of Hamburger Hill. They were heartbroken from losing him in the war and losing Nanafue to old age, so they spent most of their days with each other so they knew how much they cared for one another. But today they'd get the shock of their life when a customer entered the restaurant.

Jenny was in the bathroom finishing up her make-up and Kiki was in the back making pizzas when someone entered.

"Jenny, someone's here!" Kiki called.

"You go get it, I'm almost done!" Jenny called back.

Kiki sighed and went to the front desk to assist the visitor.

"Welcome to Fish Stew Pizza, may I take..." She trailed off when she saw who it was.

"Kiki, are you okay?" Asked Jenny through the door.

"You need to get out here now!" Kiki said.

"What!? What's wrong?"

Just get out here!"

Jenny came out if the bathroom and closed the door behind her and put her eyeliner in her make-up bag. "What's your deal?" She asked.

"Look who's here."

Jenny looked at the customer and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and tears in her eyes. "Dad?"

"Look at you two, taking care of my business while I was gone," The newly resurrected Kofe said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you two."

"But how? How is this possible?" Asked Kiki.

"Well let's just say that our best customer has finally come home," he said.

* * *

 **Back at the House...**

"So you've finally returned after all these years, huh?" Jasper asked the leader of the Rebellion.

"It would appear so," she said.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Jasper asked.

"How do you feel about me?"

"How do you think I feel about you?"

"Like I'm a traitorous soldier who went against my planet to protect another one, someone who's taken everything from you and shattered your Diamond because of some dumb planet, and you probably want to get even with me," Rose answered.

Jasper nodded. "That's a good answer. Unfortunately you couldn't be further from the truth."

"What?" Rose asked in a confused tone.

"I'll be honest, that's how I felt for a long time. I really, really wanted to destroy you and your pitiful group of soldiers. I was hell bent on your destruction for a while until I was healed by your son after becoming corrupted. He taught me the ways of Earth and you Crystal Gems and I was redeemed, according to Steven. I still hated you, and didn't feel any different about you until The first battle for Earth in the second war. That's when I understood why you did what you had to, because things happen in warfare. Sometimes you have to go against every one of your instincts to protect the ones you love. Your son taught me that."

"So you don't have any ill feelings towards me at all?" Rose asked.

"No. Well, none that I can think of right now at least. Looks like you're getting off Scot free, Rose Quartz."

"Okay then. Well, how do feel about the Gems?"

"For a very long time I didn't feel welcomed at all. It was like being in a hostile environment without knowing anything about your enemy, but your enemy knows everything about you. I was actually kind of conflicted over whether or no I should even try to become acquainted with them at all. Eventually over time and some things that happened the Gems opened their hearts to me and I became one of them in their eyes. It felt good. It felt more than good, it felt great to become part of something else apart from a platoon of soldiers. On Homeworld I felt like every mistake I made was seen by everyone on the planet and that they would look down upon me for my income. Earth is different. Here, I can make a mistake without being judged and I actually have the chance to change my ways to prevent future mistakes from occurring. I can be whoever and whatever I want without anyone telling me otherwise. Peridot was right, Earth _can_ set you free. I'm free here. I am Jasper, members of the Crystal Gems, guardians of Planet Earth. This has been...quite the experience, coming to Earth. I'm glad I'm having that experience with the ones I love, my family. So here's what I have to say to you, Rose Quartz. Thank you for starting the Rebellion. Thank you for forming the Crystal Gems and defying Homeworld's tyranny. Thank you for being an inside to Gems all over the universe. Thank you for allowing me into your family and letting me help raise your wonderful son. Thank you for letting me serve you, it's been an honor."

Rose just couldn't believe the forgiveness and passion in Jasper's eyes. No former Homeworld Gem had ever been so supportive and so accepting of her ways before. It's almost as if Jasper had always wanted to be a Crystal Gem, like it was her lifelong dream and destiny.

"Jasper, the honor is all mine."

* * *

 **An hour later...**

After Jasper's conversation with Rose, she gathered all the Gems the living room to have a group discussion regarding Steven. After everyone had taken their seats Rose held up something in her hand. Steven's letter.

The difference faces each of the gems expressed showed their discomfort and sadness. Then Rose spoke.

"While I was inside my gem, I knew Steven's every thought, every dream, and every secret. I saw and heard everything he's experienced as well. But this letter was something I had never seen coming. It seems that my son has been harboring a lot of stress and depression from you all, and that he was so good at hiding his emotions that even I didn't know all of them. I knew of his feelings but I never knew they were to this extent. So when you bring Steven home, I want each of you to talk to him. Let him know that you guys love him and care about him, cause that's a lot of emotional baggage for someone to be carrying around since childhood. He feels these things because of all of you. Either you were close with me and spoke of me often or hadn't ever met me and wanted to know about me, whatever your reasons are they need to be addressed. I love my son to death and if he feels like this we need to be there for him and tell him how much we love him. He's changed each of our lives in amazing and impossible ways, so we owe this to him. Please everyone, help me save my baby."

By the time Rose had finished speaking all of the Gems were already in tears, thinking about everything they've put Steven through. The fights, the arguments, the cold and often cruel attitudes they gave him through all those years, even before the war. It killed them all because they realized that despite them winning the war, Steven has lost everything before the war even began. The guilt was overwhelming, all of Steven's problems and issues were on their minds, the same as Rose. They were so lost in their problems that they didn't notice the woman until she was in the living room already.

Rose felt the presence of someone behind her so she turned around and saw that Connie had awoken from her slumber.

"Hello everyone," she said nervously.

No one had said anything for a minute, just staring at her. Then Lapis spoke.

"Why didn't you tell us you were schizophrenic?"

"Because my problems aren't the end of the world compared to everyone else's. I deal with my illness every day of my life, and you guys don't even see all of it. And you don't know how many I tried committing suicide. But it doesn't matter. I listened to each of your conversations with Rose, including this group one about Steven you just had. Then I realized something. None of us care about anything more than Steven. That's why all of us are together again. We wanted to see the greatest person in our lives. Steven's worth putting aside out differences, but you guys are to. I never told you because it didn't matter. My illness has always tried to consume me ever since the war, but I know I'm strong enough to make sure that I can control it. Unfortunately my illness added with all this stress from recent events took over and that's why I almost killed you all. It's a good thing Rose was here, otherwise I probably would've shattered you."

"Connie, since we haven't had any time alone yet, would you like to talk to me too?" Rose asked.

Connie shook her head. "No thank you Rose. I've gotten all of my issues in sync now, I'm fine." She looked over at the spaghetti dinner the Gems had made. "But I would love to dig into the lovely dinner you all made," she said with a smile.

The Gems all had dinner together, and they had a blast together. They talked about Steven, and what each of them had done while they were away. They all had funny stories to tell and secrets to share, and they all had a wonderful time.

Those good times didn't last one night, they lasted day after day as the family had become a family again. They went to Funland and spent days there on the rides and booths, they had huge get togethers with some of the townspeople they knew, and they were shocked to find that Steven had been in town and had resurrected all of the citizens of Beach City that has died in the war. It was amazing, and they had so much fun every day of the week. The days went by in a flash and soon it was the day of Steven's concert. Everyone was excited, the moment of truth had come and they were about to become one family while again.

It was 9:30, and the concert was about to start. The Gems and Connie left the house made their way to the beach where there was a huge stage set up by the townsfolk, where Steven would be performing. A crowd and already gathered on the beach, so Connie and the Gems found a nice spot close to the stage to watch the show. Garnet had grabbed a pamphlet from a booth and read the names of the songs that would be sung.

"His opening act is Dream On by Aerosmith," she said. "Then there's Heathens by Twenty One Pilots, When Doves Cry by Prince, an original song called Good times, Good vibes, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and Coming Home by Diddy featuring...Connie Maheswaren?"

"Wait, I'm singing with Steven!?" Connie asked excitedly.

Just then there was a loud horn that was heard from the water. Everyone got quiet and looked to see what it was.

It was a boat. A yacht actually. The name read; **Lil' Lappy 2**

Lapis giggled at the name of the boat, and they all knew that it was Steven. The boat came to a stop at the shore and the hatch opened. And then the man of the hour stepped out into the spotlights. The crowd cheered.

Connie gasped. He was handsome, gorgeous even. He had really grown a lot since he was away.

The Gems also gasped because of how handsome he was. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Rose specifically all had the same thought.

He looks just like Greg when he was a young man.

Peridot and Jasper just started at him with smiles all around. Lapis was blushing a bit at how handsome he was.

While the crowd was cheering Steven walked over with his electric guitar in hand and grabbed a microphone from the stage and spoke.

"Gooooood evening Beach City! My god, it's great to be back home. Man I've got to tell you, I've been all over the world, but this is the only place that's home to me. It's incredible to be here right now, it's truly incredible. Okay everyone, I hope you enjoy the show!" He looked around the stage at all the instruments that were on the stage that no one was using. "Well it looks like we don't have anyone who can help with this concert because I didn't bring my friends to play with me. Don't worry, I have an amazingly talented group of musicians I'd like to meet. I just have to find them."

The spotlight began moving all around the crowd, as if it were searching for somebody.

"Oh wait I see them! Towards the front, shine the light at the front. Right there where I'm pointing!"

The spotlight stopped on some people in the crowd. It was his family.

"There they are, the greatest family in the universe!" Steven sang like an announcer at a Miss America competition.

Connie and the Gems couldn't believe what Steven was doing. He was letting them play his songs with all of them.

"Come on up guys. Just like all those years ago, let's have the greatest jam session ever!"

The crowd went absolutely nuts. They were cheering the Gems on while they went up to the stage and picked up the various instruments. Connie had her violin and she was standing right next to Steven. Right before they began playing she leaned over to his ear and whispered, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he whispered back. And then they began to play. The concert had started and the crowd was loving it.

While the Gems were up there on stage playing song after song with Steven, they all had something happen the them, even Connie. Their lives flashed before their eyes. Each of them saw their high points and low points, the fun and the sad times, and the dark things that each of them had done in the war. And then there was Steven. They were happy. They were having fun, and soon all of their troubles were forgotten in that one hour long concert with their idol.

And they didn't want any of it to change.

* * *

 **A few hours later...**

The concert was over. The town had returned to it's small town sleepiness as usual, and everything was back to normal.

Of course Steven and his family threw a party at the beach that lasted for hours after the concert. What better way to show the love and affection for your loved one to haven't been able to share for a decade?

The Gems definitely made up for lost time playing party games, playing songs together, sharing stories that made them all laugh, and Steven got to meet his mother for the first time. It was a wonderful family reunion for them all, and secrets were revealed from Steven's time away.

Soren made a quick appearance at the party too. As it turns out Steven was the one who sent Soren to Beach City to convince Connie to search for all of the Crystal Gems in the first place. It was Soren's mission to help Connie make sure the Crystal Gems got back together before Steven's concert, otherwise he wouldn't have ever come home. That's why Soren kept disappearing, he was updating Steven and receiving new orders for his mission, which was a success in the end. All in all everything had worked out, and the Crystal Gems, as well as Connie, finally had completed their family.

After the party ended Soren left again because his mission was complete. He said goodbye to everyone, wished them luck, and was on his way to who knows where.

Shortly after Soren left a visitor arrived at the house. He had died in the war, another person Steven had resurrected with his rediscovered powers. It was none than Greg Universe. He had been in a bubble underneath his grave that made his body reverse age, so he was young like when he first met Rose. There was hugs, kisses and love shared all around once more as the final piece of their family had been completed.

That night everyone slept in the living room together. No one wanted to be separated again, even in slumber. Most of them were asleep except for Steven, Connie and Rose. They sat up for a while, talking to each other and watching the Gems dream.

"I can't believe it," Steven said. "I just can't believe I have everyone I love together again. This is all I've ever wanted in life."

"Was it worth the wait Steven?" Rose asked.

"It certainly was Mom. This is the greatest day of my life."

"Same for me," Connie agreed. "It's been such a long and hard journey for us all, but now it's finally paying off."

The three of them got real quiet for a few minutes. Then Connie spoke again.

"Steven, I need to tell you something. What I never shared with anyone until recently, during the war I developed schizophrenia. I've been dealing with it for almost 15 years now. I'm so sorry I never told you, but you had to leave and find yourself and I didn't want to take that away from you."

"Would you like me to heal you?" He asked, about to lick his hand before Connie stopped him.

"No. I've gotten this far and I'm fine. I want to live with it, as long as your okay with it."

"I understand Connie. I'll be here for you whenever you need me, no matter what," he said before leaning forward and kissing Connie.

He broke away from the kiss to say four words, four words Connie had been waiting to hear forever. "Will you marry me?"

"Of course Steven!" Connie cried out with excitement.

"Oh my gosh yes!" Rose said excitedly as well. "I'm going to be at my son's wedding! Oh, let me plan it, it'll be a blast! I already have so many ideas for everything, oh please say yes!"

"Yes mom, we would me honored to have you plan our wedding," Steven said.

The three got quiet again, Steven and Connie embracing each other in their arms, never wanting to let go. As they sat there, watching the Gems sleep and wondering what they were dreaming, Connie thought to herself.

 _I've done it. This is the family that I've always wanted. From now on, we stay together no matter what. We will never be separated again._

As the three fell asleep, Connie was happy that night not just because she had her family back, but for at least one night she could sleep without any problems or nightmares plaguing her mind. Her final thoughts right before she fell asleep were through of how wonderful her life would be from that day forward. She was happy, she was grateful...

She was complete.

* * *

 **And that does it for this story. Thank each and every one of you who followed, favorited or reviewed my story, you don't know how much I appreciate all your love and support through all of this. I plan to make more SU stories as well, so keep a lot out, there may even be a few prequels to this story. Who knows.**

 **So to all my fans out there in the world, thank you, I love you all, and goodbye to Separate Ways. Peace.**


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